Wishes of a Different Sort
by Homura Bakura
Summary: [complete] At the request of Madoka, Homura enters a strange world to defend it from an unknown entity. Faced with beings that far outstrip her in power, she will have to use every trick at her disposal to find the truth of the shadow that looms over Namek, and decipher the puzzle of her own existence in Madoka's new universe.
1. Connect

Homura did not know where she was. And she didn't like it.

The sun beat down on the wide green fields spreading out in front of her. Strange, thin white trees grew in clumps with puffballs of leaves right at the top, sticking like groups of chopsticks out of the randomly placed mesas and cliffs that dotted the otherwise barren field. She glanced at the water behind her – blue as the sky and completely still. Not a cloud marred the glasslike surface, and she shuddered. She moved away from the water.

She raised a hand to block her eyes against the sun. She was no longer on Earth – that she knew for sure. That had been apparent in itself after Madoka had appeared and asked for her help. Homura's raised hand moved from her forehead to the ribbon on her head, feeling a hint of tears in her eyes. Madoka had appeared to her! The thought made her heart so light that she hardly cared about the strange surroundings anymore.

"Hey! You! Turn around! Slowly, got it? I'm armed!"

Homura tensed, her fingers going instinctively to the ring around her finger. Slowly, she turned around. The thing that confronted her made her wrinkle her nose in disgust. It was human in shape, but its skin was a pale blue and he had a bushy mane of white hair. He wore strange armor with shoulder guards and a black jumpsuit that came down to shorts beneath it. A strange green lens covered one eye. One arm was encased in what appeared to be a futuristic laser.

"Hands where I can see 'em," he growled. "You're trespassing on property of Lord Frieza."

Homura didn't move her arms an inch.

"Property? I was under the impression this whole planet had few inhabitants," Homura said.

"Well, it's none of your business. Now hands where I can see them!"

Homura felt the adrenaline start to flood through her muscles, preparing her for attack.

"Lower your weapon," she said calmly. "Or I'll be forced to become violent."

"Lower my – you're not in the position to be making orders!"

Her purple gem swirled to life in her palm, and in about as much time as it takes to blink, Homura's battle costume flashed into life around her. The gray pleats settled as she, with one fluid motion, pulled a gun from her time shield and pointed the barrel directly at the alien.

"How about now?" she said.

The alien's mouth dropped open, but his laser cannon did not waver.

"L-Lord Frieza will be hearing about this!" he said.

"I doubt it."

She pulled the trigger. The bullet ripped through the alien's shoulder and his weapon dropped to his side as he howled in pain. Already Homura was removing a grenade from her time shield, teeth gripping the pin and ready to pull.

But suddenly, the alien was in the air – he was flying! Shocked, Homura paused for a millisecond too long. The alien's cannon fired. Just in time – ha, she made a joke – the clock in Homura's shield starting turning. Instantly, the world froze around her, the laser paused in mid air. She pulled the pin of the grenade and threw it. The weapon flew a few feet into the air and then stopped in front of the alien. Homura moved aside of the laser's path, and stopped the clock.

The world started again – the laser hit the ground harmlessly. All Homura saw of the alien was his shocked face. Then the grenade exploded.

The charred body dropped with a crunch to the ground, and Homura shuddered. She had been so used to fighting demons, and before that, witches. It only occurred to her now that she had just killed a living being. The thought was not a pleasant one – never mind that he would have killed her if given the chance. It had been...too easy with her powers. She would have to be more careful not to be noticed from now on.

The remains of the blast still hung in the air – she had to go before she attracted anymore unwanted attention.

As she turned, a slow, mocking clap sounded behind her, sending a shudder down her spine. Too late.

"Well done," said a strange, almost hissing voice. "That was...impressive, I must say."

Homura slowly turned to face this...thing. He – at least, she thought it was a he – sat in a strange, bulbous hovercraft, his long tail draping outside it. His face was wide and flat, and he had long, deadly sharp black horns. He wore armor similar to that of the alien she had just fought, and a similar eyepiece, only his was red. Two people – if she could call them that – stood behind him. One was short, pink, and fat, with huge lips and horns all over its head. The other was tall with pale blue skin, yellow eyes, and long green hair in a green braid.

"Zarbon," said the one in the hovercraft. "What does the scouter say about her power level?"

The pale blue one raised a finger to push a button on his eyepiece. The machinery beeped for a moment, then stopped.

"Fifteen thousand, Lord Frieza," Zarbon said.

"Interesting...quite high for a young girl," the one called Frieza mused. "What is your name, girl?"

"Who would like to know?" Homura asked.

"Come, come, I already know that you're very bright. You must have been paying attention."

Homura narrowed her eyes.

"Frieza, I would assume, then?" she said.

"Indeed. And you?"

Homura considered whether or not she should answer. But then, she came from another planet, so her name shouldn't give him too much information.

"Homura. Homura Akemi."

"Hm. I have not heard of you."

"I don't make a point of being noticed."

"I see. What brings you to Planet Namek, then?"

His red eyes were level – and evil. Homura tensed slightly, knowing a potential enemy when she saw one.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," she said.

If he attacked, she could freeze time before he reached her. She was confident in her abilities – she could probably handle all three of them fairly easily. If she used her bow, of course.

"Oh, but I do," Frieza said. "You see, I own this planet now. So I think I have a right to know how and why you came here."

Homura's fingers twitched, ready to call her bow to her fingers in an instant.

"Sorry," she said. "But that's classified."

"By whose decision?"

"Mine."

Frieza frowned slightly.

"Zarbon. Kill her."

The pale blue alien smiled malevolently.

"This won't hurt. Much," he said, stepping forward.

"Funny. That was going to be my line."

Time froze in shades of gray. Homura drew her bow from nothingness and drew back the string. A glowing bolt of purple energy gathered at her fingertips.

As the clock in her shield came to a stop, she let the arrow fly. Zarbon only had time to widen his eyes in shock before the bolt pierced through his knee and he collapsed to the ground.

"Zarbon!" Frieza said, his face contorting into rage. "You fool – what are you doing?"

Homura didn't waste any time. She burst into the air, drawing her bow back for a second time. At the same instant, glowing white wings burst from her shoulder blades. The second arrow flew, this one striking the pink one through one pudgy arm.

Homura glided to the top of a mesa, planning to use the height to her advantage. But even as her wings vaporized around her, Frieza was suddenly behind her. Looking annoyed, he raised a single finger to point at her. Homura smacked her shield and time froze – she could see the beginning of a strange energy beam that had formed at Frieza's fingertip. She pushed off the mesa, flipping to land on her feet before starting time again.

The beam Frieza had obviously meant to kill her with hit the ground harmlessly – well, besides the perfect hole burned right through the mesa. Homura shuddered inwardly – that could have been her.

She pulled a handgun from her shield and fired off two shots before Frieza realized where she had gone. Again, he managed to appear right behind her – could he freeze time too?

When time froze, the beam was right in front of her face this time – that had been close. Too close. She bolted, trying desperately to find someplace to hide and regroup in the barren wasteland around her. All she could do was duck behind a mesa.

Time restarted – again the beam bored a hole through the ground. Homura flattened against the mesa, trying to quiet her labored breaths. He couldn't find her. He must not find her, or this time, she would probably die.


	2. Welcome to the World of Magic

Kyoko Sakura looked around her with detached interest. This place wasn't the kind she'd prefer to call home, that was for sure. Much too bright and barren.

She pulled a pocky stick from the box and crunched on it, savoring the flavor of strawberry. As far as she could see, the only plant life were those weird trees with puff balls on top and the short grasses. She'd better ration her food carefully, then.

Kyoko shoved the pocky box in her back pocket and pulled her bag more firmly over her shoulder. That glowing girl with the wings had told her that Homura needed help on this weird planet. So...where was that crazy mystery girl?

"Whoa!"

Kyoko turned. A short bald man in an orange gi was staring at her with shock and worry.

"W-Who are you and how did you get here?" he asked.

Kyoko blinked. He was really short. Did he not drink enough milk when he was kid or what?

"Krillin? Krillin what's wrong?"

A small boy with helmet cut black hair and a purple gi glanced around the mesa. His dark eyes widened when he was Kyoko.

"She's not saying anything," Krillin said in an attempt at whispering. "Is she deaf, maybe?"

"Hey!" Kyoko said. "Don't go assuming things!"

Krillin jumped at her voice. The little boy ran out and clenched his fists, looking almost comical with his attempt at a serious face.

"Are you with Frieza?" he asked.

"Freezer? What the heck's a Freezer? Besides the thing you keep food cold in?"

The boy and Krillin looked at each other.

"I guess...not?" the boy said.

"Don't be too sure," Krillin said. "Who are you, anyway?"

"Kyoko," Kyoko said. "You?"

"Krillin. And this is Gohan."

"Like rice? That's funny."

"Heeey!" Gohan said, blushing slightly.

"How'd you get here?" Krillin asked. "I don't see your ship."

"Why would I come on a ship? That's for goin' across water, and I don't see much of that here. Just grass."

Krillin and Gohan looked at each other again. It was starting to annoy Kyoko.

"Look, I came here cause some girl with wings asked me to help a friend," she said. "Don' know how she got me here, all I know is that she did. You guys seen a girl around here? Bout this tall, black hair, ridiculous bright red hair ribbon?"

She motioned with her hand. Krillin seemed to think for a moment.

"No," he said. "All I've seen are a few of Frieza's soldiers."

Freezer again. What kind of a name was that anyway?

"Eh. Whatever. I'll look for her my way then."

She pulled her red gem from the air and held it out on her palm. She slowly started to turn in circles, watching for a reaction. It started to blink faintly when she paused in one direction.

"So that's where yer hiding, crazy girl."

She returned the gem to its ring form and started off in that direction.

"Hey! Where are you going?"

Kyoko glanced back at them disinterestedly. She was getting hungry again – if only she had some apples.

"Goin' to find Homura-chan. Ya got a problem with that?"

"You could be going to tell Frieza about us, for all we know," Krillin said.

"Ugh! Again with this Freezer thing? What do I have to do to get away from you? Smack you?"

"Go ahead and try!" said Gohan, moving into a karate stance.

Geez. The kid was a martial arts nut. What else could be more annoying?

"Look, I don't even know who this Freezer guy is," she said. She pulled another pocky stick from the box and consumed it in about two seconds. "I'm not gonna go tell him anything."

"No, but we might!"

Two weird looking guys dropped – literally dropped – from the sky. One looked like some brown lizard standing on two legs; the other looked vaguely human, but with purple skin and black hair.

"Eeew," Kyoko said, wrinkling her nose. "What did yer mom eat while she was pregnant with you?"

"Sshut up," the lizard one said with a hiss, pointing a laser cannon at her.

The other alien pointed his cannon at the other two, grinning maliciously. Kyoko sighed. She really didn't want to deal with this right now.

"Look, I'm busy," she said. "So scram before I make ya."

"We're the ones holding the weapons here," the purple skinned alien said. "Hey Graps. What d'you got on their power levels?"

The lizard pushed a button on the strange eye visor he wore.

"Nine hundred on this one," he said, gesturing at Kyoko.

"I got a thousand each on the other two. Piece of cake."

"You gonna scram, or do I have to fight you?" Kyoko growled.

"Hah! With thosse power levelss?" the lizard said. "Not a chansse."

"What's-your-name," Krillin said. "You should let us handle this."

"It's Kyoko," Kyoko said irritably. "And I can handle myself."

She returned her Soul Gem to her hand.

"You asked for it, creeps," she said.

The red light burst from the gem, wrapping her in its toasty embrace. In mere moments, her battle costume had materialized. The two aliens' eye visors started beeping like crazy.

"No way," the purple one said, taking his eyes off of Krillin and Gohan. "Twenty-two thousand? How did that happen?"

"Get ready, cause here I come!" Kyoko said, grinning.

She plucked her spear from nothingness, the burst forward and slammed the side of it into the alien. His visor smashed to bits and he fell uselessly to the ground. The other one whipped around. He aimed his cannon at her – too late. Kyoko thrust the spear right through him. Her stomach turned at the blood, but not too much.

She yanked the spear from the limp body. Krillin and Gohan stared at her with their mouths wide open.

"Yer gonna catch flies like that," Kyoko said. "Later."

She turned and started walking. Now where was that walking enigma anyway?


	3. Forbidden Steps

_(gasp! I actually updated this story! Has Armageddon begun? XD Sorry for the long wait, everyone; just for future reference, this story will continue to update slowly, as ideas come to me. I actually didn't anticipate so much interest, so I didn't make an outline for this story, and I have no idea what's going to happen next. Hope you enjoy!)_

Breathing heavily, unsure of where she was, Homura finally allowed herself to stumble to the ground.

She released her hold on time, confident that the canyon she had chosen to hide in would keep her safe for the time being. Her battle costume shrank back into her Soul Gem. She had _never_ had to hold time frozen for that long. She hoped she had put enough distance between her and Frieza.

She glanced dubiously at the gem in her hand. It was dangerously black – she had used way too much energy on that fight. Only after she had dug a Grief Cube from her pocket, and used it to suck out as much of the impurities as possible would she allow herself to think about what had just happened.

Madoka had appeared to her (she pushed down the jolt of joy in her stomach at the thought; there was too much at stake to allow for such indulgences). She had arrived here on this planet, presumably to fight demons. She had met an alien. Hm. She had never really thought about extraterrestrial life. Surprising, really, how little she was surprised by this. But then, the Incubators were supposedly from another planet themselves, so she shouldn't be that surprised. Moving on: the beings were completely sentient, and many of them wanted to kill her.

And they were much, much more powerful that she had ever expected.

_Frieza might have the power to destroy Walpurgisnacht in a single blow,_ she thought. She didn't want to admit it, but the power he exuded had to be considered. She would never be able to clear out the demons if she had to watch out for that creature as well.

A jolt, much like static electricity, buzzed through her. All her senses kicked into high gear.

"So what do we have here? An Earthling? What are you doing so far from home, hm?"

Homura flew to her feet, her recently purified Soul Gem ready at her fingers.

It was his familiarity that made him so surprising: no strange horns, different colored skin, or out-of-place spikes. He stood only slightly taller than her, black hair spiked upwards in a ridiculous style, but he was human – or at least, he _looked_ human. Still, he wore the same style of armor as her previous opponents, and she was in no mood to relax her guard in the slightest.

He smirked, dark eyes shining with confidence.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

"I would think talking is unnecessary in this situation," Homura said. "You and I both know that we are merely looking for openings."

His smirk twitched towards an even broader smile.

"And are you finding any?"

Despite his loose, almost unconcerned stance, with arms folded across his chest, Homura could sense the power coursing through him. Even beyond his heavily muscled limbs, she could see that his feet were light against the ground – he could snap into action as fast as he wanted to.

"No," she said eventually. "And you?"

"Several," he said, still smirking.

"Take advantage of them, then," Homura said. "If you don't trust me."

"I haven't decided if I do or not, yet," he said.

She bristled. He was definitely toying with her.

"Do not underestimate me," she said softly.

He laughed shortly.

"Excuse me if I'm not too worried by you," he said. "Earthlings aren't known for their strength in battle. _Especially_ their women."

"Try me."

It must have been the tone of her voice, but the man paused, his smirk falling slightly. Her lack of fear must have unnerved him to some degree. Her Soul Gem pulsed softly in her palm – and he attacked.

Faster than she expected, he was at her side, driving a fist into her unguarded stomach. The barest flicker of pain registered as she flew backwards towards the side of the canyon. She managed to flip over, feet touching the canyon wall as her battle costume whirled into place around her. Using the canyon wall to propel herself forward, she had driven a heel into the man's face before he was aware of her.

But he didn't even flinch, grabbing her leg and throwing her to the ground. He flashed forward – too fast, too fast! – and she froze time. After scrabbling to her feet, she fired five bullets in formation towards the frozen man: two to the head, three to the chest.

Time restarted. Three bullets hit their target – but they barely penetrated his armor. He shook off the attack, and Homura tensed for a moment – she would have to use her bow. If bullets wouldn't work, the blessing of Madoka _had _to –

But he didn't move to attack. His dark eyes flashed with curiosity.

"Interesting," he said. "You recovered quickly from that blow."

"Hardly even felt it," Homura said, readying the magic silently at her fingers, ready to form the bow at any second.

"You're quick. And transformation isn't a common technique," he said, half-smirking. "But Frieza doesn't employ Earthlings. So what are you doing here?"

The all-too-familiar name made Homura's eyes narrow.

"That name familiar to you, then?" he said, noting her expression.

She might have answer. But he paused, eyes flicking upwards. Homura's Soul Gem heated at her hand.

Those two aliens from before, the green and the pink one – her blood ran cold. Did that mean Frieza was nearby as well? Had he found her, despite her being so far away?

Forgetting the man for the moment, she ducked beneath a outcropping on the canyon wall. Bursts of white light flashed overhead like heat lightning. The whoosh of a hundred flying creatures nearly buffeted Homura out from under her ledge. Most of them flew overhead, but two paused, and Homura recognized the energy signature as the two aliens she had fought before Frieza had entered the fight.

"What the heck you talking about?" the pink one said. "My scouter isn't picking up nothing."

"I told you, I located an energy source here. It spiked for a moment, then vanished as we passed over. Wait – there's one! Fifteen thousand, like the girl!"

Homura's blood ran cold. She suddenly realized that the man was beneath the outcropping beside her, and his dark eyes flashed to her with curiosity. But Homura couldn't think about that – those two aliens were going to come and kill her, and she couldn't hide herself from them –

_"Homura-chan!"_

Madoka?! The voice startled her so badly that her transformation melted away. The alien above her paused.

"...the signal is gone."

Homura let herself breathe.

"I'm telling ya, it was a malfunction," the pink one grumbled. "Hurry up. Frieza ain't gonna wait forever, Zarbon."

The one called Zarbon hesitated for just a moment longer.

"Look if you're _that_ worried about not finding her," the pink one said. "Then just vaporize the damn canyon and be done with it. Problem solved."

Homura's blood ran cold. The man beside her tensed, and she could sense his anticipation of the attack. She could almost see strategies whirring in his eyes – but she couldn't breathe. No matter what she did, she couldn't think of a single thing. She was a Puella Magi – this shouldn't be this difficult! But she could feel ice creeping up through her, starting from her feet – that same freezing feeling she used to get when she first faced off against witches –

Energy crackled overhead – there was no time –

Time.

The word snapped her back to her normal battle senses, just as the man turned to face her.

"If Zarbon and Dodoria are really after you," he said. "Then we have the same enemy. Much as I hate to admit it, I can't defeat Dodoria _and_ Zarbon at the same time."

"So you propose a temporary alliance?"

"You catch on quickly – I think we'll get along."

"Accepted."

"Good."

Homura allowed her transformation to settle back in around her. Energy exploded overhead – she caught the flash of frustration in the man's eyes and realized it had happened faster than he had anticipated – she grabbed his arm and time froze.

"What –" he started.

"Don't let go, or time will stop for you too," she said. "And then you _will_ be vaporized."

His eyes narrowed, as if unconvinced, but he did not shrug off her arm.

Cautiously, the pair exited the supposed safety of the outcropping. She caught the merest flicker of surprise in his eyes when he saw the energy frozen in midair.

"I assume you'll know better than I would, so what do you think the blast radius of that will be?" she said.

He studied it.

"It's low level, focused," he said. "It won't take out much more than a twenty, thirty foot radius."

"Then let's get out of range."

The pair hurried towards the edge of the blast radius. Homura had expected to have to go slower than she was used to, to make sure she didn't lose hold on his arm, but he moved as quickly as she did.

"That will work, right?" she said, pointing at a small cave.

The man looked a little disgruntled, as though he disliked hiding as opposed to fighting, but he nodded sharply and they slipped inside. Homura released her hold on time.

The world outside the cave exploded. Homura shielded her eyes from the glare – it was almost as bright as the time she had seen Madoka's future, blowing up Kriemhild Gretchen at the end of time.

But soon the light faded, and Homura was back in the cold, dark interior of the cave. She felt the energy of their enemies fade and disappear somewhere in the distance. All Homura wanted to do was sink to the ground and sleep for about three hours, but she dared not show that kind of weakness in front of her new ally. He could become her enemy in a matter of moments, and she could not afford to give him an openings.

She flicked her eyes toward him, releasing her transformation. His dark eyes met hers, completely unreadable.

"That's an interesting talent you have there," he said. "Time control, isn't it?"

"Correct," Homura said.

"Hm," he said. "Time control – you are strong, aren't you? Guldo has that power, but he doesn't have the strength or firepower to back it up."

His eyes were level.

"What about you?"

Homura didn't let her gaze waver.

"I don't know who Guldo is," she said carefully. "But if you want firepower, I have enough of that to fuel five armies. Perhaps more."

They held each others gazes for another long moment. Then a small, self-satisfied smile twitched across his lips.

"You don't scare easily," he said. "I think I'll enjoy working with you. For the time being. My name is Vegeta. Prince of Saiyans. And you?"

"Homura Akemi."

The terms of their alliance were not spoken, but Homura felt them in the air.

If I decide that you're not useful, I will kill you in a heartbeat.

She only managed to hide her shudder. _Madoka...what I have I gotten myself into?_


	4. Believing in Justice

As a rule, Kyoko didn't really like working with people, not since her very first stint with Mami had ended with her father going crazy. She had started to feel that it was a burden, because if someone had your back, then you had to have their back, and you couldn't fight freely without the niggling feeling in the back of your head that your ally (or allies) needed help or something. Homura had been an exception: Kyoko had known she could take care of herself, and they could work together without blowing each other up. Mami and Sayaka had been exceptions too. Although Sayaka had often almost hit Kyoko more often than not.

She stopped herself before she threw up, or started crying, or both. It was better if she didn't remember them. Not right now, anyway.

The real problem was that the midget and that kid with helmet hair were still following her. They thought she didn't notice, hiding behind mesas and stuff, but really, her Soul Gem probably would've picked up on them from a mile away.

Whatever. She just had to find Homura. Damn, she had lost the trail again. Why couldn't that girl just stay transformed for more than five minutes? Granted, Kyoko herself had powered down a few minutes ago, but she had to conserve energy. Her Grief Cube store looked to be running low.

The Soul Gem in her palm heated so quickly that it burned, and she dropped it with a yelp. Terror burst in her chest, but the grass was soft and the Gem held its integrity. She scooped it up and returned it to ring form.

A huge power signature was headed her way – demons? No, not even demons registered this high on the Soul Gem. She had to take cover and _now._

With the speed of a Puella Magi, she whipped around and dove towards the mesa that those two tag-alongs were hiding behind. When she appeared around the corner, both of them jumped up with shock. She didn't bother to explain – based on the expressions on their faces, they had just noticed the power as well.

"Get down!" she hissed, practically bowling them over.

She hit the ground and froze, willing her heart to go silent for just a single, necessary moment – it wasn't like she really needed it to keep beating, anyway.

Her sardonic thoughts stopped in their tracks as a pack of white streaks of light zoomed over them, like comets streaking through the atmosphere. It was so loud and so overwhelmingly more powerful than she anything she had ever encountered before, making her head reel and almost causing her to bite her tongue. They disappeared as quickly has they had appeared, zooming off into the near distance, freezing, and then dropping behind a ridge, still a little too close for comfort.

It took a few seconds for Kyoko to recover, her useless heart beating frantically and adrenaline zooming through her, more insistent than ever on activating her battle senses. It was only then that she realized she had ended up on top of the kid with the helmet hair. He wriggled out from under her as she pushed herself off of him.

"What the hell..." Kyoko said. "Was that?"

"You tell me," said the midget, looking shaken as he helped the younger boy to his feet. "We saw them earlier – I had hoped we wouldn't cross paths with them..."

"But they have the Dragon Balls, Krillin," the younger boy said. "You knew we'd have to face them eventually."

Krillin swallowed, his adam's apple bouncing. He caught Kyoko's eye.

"Dragon Balls?" Kyoko said, wrinkling her nose. "That's disgusting."

Krillin sighed loudly, rolling his eyes.

"Really, I've heard that so many times, it's not even funny anymore," he said. "Are you telling me you don't know what the Dragon Balls are?"

"If the name's any indication, I don't wanna know."

Krillin and the younger boy exchanged glances. Kyoko rolled her eyes with an unnecessary attitude.

"Fine. Go ahead and don't trust me. I'm used to it, don't worry."

"Oh all right," Krillin said, a little irritably. "We're from Earth. We came to find the Dragon Balls in order to rescue our friends, but then we ran into these guys!"

"Uh-huh," Kyoko said, unconvinced. "And how are these Dragon Balls gonna help?"

Krillin opened his mouth as if to answer when a burst of energy registered in Kyoko's mind. All three of them tensed up as one.

"You feel that?" Kyoko said.

"Sure did," Gohan said, starting to tremble a little – but then he clenched his fists and starting running towards it. "Come on, let's check it out!"

"Gohan, wait!" Krillin said, hurrying after him. "Let's not – it's probably dangerous!"

Kyoko allowed herself a grin. She liked that little kid. He had spunk.

Maybe she'd be the tagalong, just this once.

The sunlight didn't change as the trio hurried across the wide, flat grasslands. Every sense Kyoko had – and that included her magic – was on hyper drive. In a place like this it would be impossible to hide, or find cover. She wasn't sure about how these two would be in battle, and she didn't want to have to find out if she could help it.

Suddenly, the ground dropped away in front of them. Kyoko, being so focused on the terrain around and behind her, nearly fell off the edge before Gohan grabbed her wrist and yanked her back. She hit the ground stomach down the instant she realized that the other two were crouching.

"What?" she hissed.

Krillin, expression torn between glaring at Kyoko and fear at what was below, just pointed. Kyoko followed his gaze and instantly wrinkled her nose.

A group of alien creatures stood in the valley beyond the cliff they huddled on. On one side, standing before a group of dome like houses made of an odd white marble, were a few wrinkled, bald, green guys with antenna. Two smaller versions of them without wrinkles huddled around a chubby one, clinging to him like he was their father. They wore strange baggy clothing with twisted collars that looked like kind of like turbans.

On the other side stood a group of what were obviously professional soldiers. They wore similar uniforms and helmets, with futuristic lasers clamped around their left arms. Some of them looked vaguely human, but most of them had oddly colored skin, lizard-like features, and even tails. At their head stood a man – at least, she thought it might be a man, it was hard to tell – with pale blue skin and long green hair in a braid. There was another one, short, pink, and fat, with horns all over his head and giant dark purple lips. It kind of made Kyoko want to puke.

Those two flanked a strange, bulbous looking vehicle hovering inches off the ground. Inside was the strangest – and most terrifying – creature Kyoko had ever seen.

At first glance, he wasn't much to look at. He couldn't have been much taller than Kyoko, if he was taller at all, and he had a flat, purpleish face with two long horns coming from his head. A long, fleshy tail draped out from inside the hovercraft, and his features were almost feminine. He might have been comical – except for his level red eyes and calm but pulsing aura that just radiated power.

Kyoko swallowed slowly. That aura...dark, twisted, and evil, almost overwhelming, like it wanted to swallow her up and choke her to death –

She jerked violently out of the strange half-dream. The aura remained, but...it wasn't as suffocating. Had it been real? A snippet of dream she was just remembering, or a suppressed memory from long ago? She was surprised to find the hint of tears in her eyes and she wiped them away hurriedly. It was nothing – the aura hadn't reminded her of anything at all. It had just shocked her. That was all.

"I am Lord Frieza, and yes, all the horrible stories you have heard are true," the alien in the hovercraft said, softly. Dangerously. "

The chubby green alien shifted slightly, and his hands moved over the two children beside him protectively. Obviously, he was in charge.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said. His voice was deep, and almost gravelly.

The middle alien chuckled softly.

"I might have been inclined to believe you," he said. "Except, well, that's exactly what the last village elder told me. Before I started killing all of his people, of course."

Kyoko caught the tensing of muscles in the elder's hands. She tensed, too. No way was she about to watch a massacre of helpless innocents in front of her eyes, human or not.

When the village elder didn't answer, the red-eyed alien's eyes half-closed, like a cat waiting to spring.

"Hm. All you Namekians are so very stubborn. Zarbon. Persuade him."

The blue skinned alien simply nodded and stepped forward. He held two giant orange balls with stars in them under both arms, but he didn't set them down. He flicked his head back to get the bangs from his eyes – and then he was behind the Namekians, his knee swinging around and into one of the old Namekian's necks.

Kyoko had barely had the time to suck in a breath before the victim was on the ground, neck twisted at an unnatural angle and eyes staring blankly. Zarbon hesitated for only a brief second, and one of the other old aliens tried to take advantage of it. The key word was tried. Energy blasted from the old one's fingers, but Zarbon was already in the sky, shooting downwards.

The old alien never had a chance – and neither did Kyoko. She had only barely started to sit up before the alien fell, burnt to a crisp, with a sickening crunch to the ground.

Her stomach heaved as dark, twisted memories of blood spilling across the kitchen floor forced their way into her head. Despite the terrible, sickening pain in her chest, she suppressed the retches – if that guy noticed them…she probably didn't stand a chance.

The elder's eyes flashed open wide, and sweat droplets became clearly visible on his forehead. Slowly, he pushed the two children behind him, as though that could protect them. Kyoko's blood boiled – chance or not, she couldn't just _watch_ this! They would turn to the kids next!

Beside her, Gohan's fists clenched, and he started to tremble so violently that Kyoko thought he would fall out of his skin.

"Gohan!" Krillin hissed. "You have to keep your power level down! They'll notice!"

"I'm too angry," Gohan said through gritted teeth.

"There's nothing any of us could have done! We can't take these guys head on!"

"There's no other way to take anything," Kyoko said. "I never believe in subtlety."

She started to sit up, but Krillin grabbed her shoulder and yanked her down.

"Are you crazy?" Krillin said

"Yes. I'm also a freaking zombie, so it's not like they can hurt me."

"You're a what?"

Frieza's high, cold voice cut across their muted argument.

"You stupid Namekians, always acting so noble. Well, we'll see how noble you are when your precious children are at stake."

He slowly started to raise his hand from inside the hovercraft. The guards behind the Namekians fled, and Kyoko's blood boiled hotter than ever.

"No! Please!" the elder started – but Kyoko knew it was much too late; this sadistic bastard was going to murder both children anyway, even if he had gotten the freaking Dragon Ball right away –

But before anything could happen, the fat pink alien's eye piece beeped, and he glanced in their direction. Red hot, primitive fear rushed through Kyoko, and all three of them hunkered down as far as they could on the cliff side.

"There's that power level again," he said. "Up there. I think someone's been watching us, Lord Frieza –"

It beeped again, and Zarbon glanced toward the sky. In a flash of white light, three more Namekians appeared, dropping from the sky like a trio of comets. Her Soul Gem ring reacted to their arrival, warming pleasantly around her finger.

These three looked much younger than the elders, tough and well-muscled. Kyoko drew in a breath, not quite daring herself to hope that they could actually help –

"Dodoria. Their power levels?" Frieza asked.

The pink one pressed a button on his eye piece.

"Heh!" the pink one said. "I don't know, boys, maybe we should run away! They're packing serious power there, one thousand each!"

The soldiers burst out into laughter. Then, after a few jeers and more chuckling, as the Namekians simply waited with clenched fists, the soldiers charged.

The Namekians were highly outnumbered, but the soldiers were relaxed – and they underestimated their opponents. One after another, the Namekians flew through the ranks of the soldiers, deflecting the lasers with ease, causing the soldiers to create giant clouds of smoke from which they could sneak attack. They, too, could use the strange energy bolts that Kyoko had seen Zarbon use. Their quickness and power was enough to impress Kyoko – magical girls weren't really known for hand-to-hand fighting – but as her thoughts returned to Zarbon's unnatural speed, she could feel it in her gut that these guys didn't have a single chance.

Suddenly, out of the blue, the elder shot upwards. Three well-placed bolts flew from his fingers – completely missing any actual targets. Kyoko blinked several times. What had he…?

"The scouters!" Zarbon shouted. "I should have known – he was aiming for the scouters!"

"What? Why did he do that?" Gohan said, echoing Kyoko's thoughts.

"Think about it!" Krillin said. "Without those, they can't track power levels – and that means they can't find the other Namekian villages, or the Dragon Balls!"

Kyoko didn't want to hear any more whining and yammering – this was time to _act._

In the few moments that they had processed this information, Dodoria had wrecked his way through the three warriors, leaving them broken and twisted on the ground without even breaking a sweat.

Kyoko started to stand up, ignoring Krillin's whispered protests.

Then energy crackled through the air, and before Kyoko could blink, one of the children was laying dead on the ground, smoke rising from its charred clothing. The second child froze in its tracks – obviously, they had been trying to escape. The child that still lived cried out in its native language, eyes wide as it stammered out syllables.

Frieza's fingertip let off a slow, thin stream of smoke.

"Well," he said. "That was messy. Shall I do the other one, now?"

"No – wait!" the elder pleaded. "I – I'll get the Dragon Ball. Wait here."

Stiff but with hands trembling, the elder shuffled into the house behind in. In moments, he returned with a similar giant sphere with stars.

"Here. Take it," the elder said, his contorted expression a mix of anger and broken sorrow. "It's yours. You win."

Frieza's lips twitched into a half smile.

"Yes. Indeed I did."

He snapped his fingers and Zarbon moved to take the Dragon Ball from the elder's hands. Kyoko slowly, slowly buried her face in the ground. It was over. And she hadn't done a damn thing. So many were dead...she shouldn't care, she knew, and she usually wouldn't have.

But those kids...clinging to their elder, because even though they had felt that he could protect them, they had still been terrified. Like her sister had...when she had clung to her mother...as though mom could protect them from dad's blind rage –

"Oh. Dodoria," Frieza said suddenly. "Kill the other one."

Kyoko's faced flashed up from the ground. The pink alien grinned and punched his fists together. He stomped towards the other child, a tank beside a mouse. The little child couldn't move – fear held him in place, just like her sister after mom had dropped to the ground in a bloody mess –

Kyoko didn't even realize at first, but she and Gohan moved in synchronization. Gohan exploded forward, and the heat of his aura sent Kyoko's Soul Gem haywire. She ignored it as her battle costume fell into place and she zoomed forward.

Gohan collided with Dodoria, and to her surprise, the alien was so thrown off guard that he went flying into one of the houses with a crash. Kyoko landed neatly, whirling to face the others with a spear in hand.

Krillin dropped to the ground behind her, grabbing the kid.

"Let's go! We can't take them!" he shouted.

Kyoko growled under her breath, not willing to move.

But then Frieza's cold red eyes fell on her, and she saw that he couldn't care less about what had just happened to his very powerful lackey.

And with a cold feeling in her stomach, she realized that she really _didn't_ stand a chance.

With one last furious glare at him and a violent bite into her pocky stick, she whirled on her heel and burst away.

A/N: lo and behold, there is a new chapter. :D My goal is to have a chapter out a week, but don't hold me to it because life is constantly getting in the way. Hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for Homura and Vegeta's first joint battle next time...


	5. Pugna cum advena

Kyoko pretended not to be surprised by the fact that Gohan and Krillin could fly, but promised to herself that she would get to the bottom of that particular ability later. At a time when they weren't being chased by a bulbous pink alien of unknown gender.

Kyoko cursed softly under her breath and instantly regretted it, as it used up unnecessary air. Gohan, Krillin and Dodoria were inhumanly fast, and it took all of Kyoko's strength and magic to keep up the pace.

She swore softly under her breath. This running was pointless! This crazy alien would chase them tirelessly, and there was nowhere on this damn planet to lose him! She never thought she'd miss the dingy backstreets of Mitakihara, but now all she could think about was how easy it would be to lose their pursuer if they had mazes of alleys to use. Kyoko gave up, skidding to a stop. It was time to take this crazy planet on _her_ terms.

Her spear jumped to her fingertips, and with a mighty heave, she thrust the weapon straight up in the air. She pushed it to stretch as fast and long as she could make it. She had timed it correctly. The moment Dodoria passed over her, her spear flew upwards and pierced through his stomach –

Dodoria reacted quickly for a creature of his bulk, zooming upwards to avoid the worst of the strike. Kyoko let the spear snap back to it's normal size as the effeminate alien dropped towards her, his fat lips spread into a wide grin. Kyoko realized almost too late that he wasn't coming to fight her – he was trying to land on her!

She pushed back, using her spear for extra leverage. Dodoria crashed into the ground. Smoke rose from the impact. As it cleared, a deep, round crater met Kyoko's eyes. Her stomach turned as she realized that could have been her, but those thoughts vanished as Dodora clambered, unhurt, from the hole. Puella Magi instinct took over.

Kyoko thrust her spear forward. The alien grabbed at the pole with one hand and batted it aside. Swearing, Kyoko leapt out of the way of an energy blast he sent her way. She landed neatly and whirled to face the next attack. Dodoria was already in the air now, surging toward her for another attempt at flattening her.

This time, Kyoko didn't dodge. She flipped her spear forward to face the assault, bracing herself. With luck, he would have too much momentum to stop – and that momentum would take him right through her spear.

Her luck didn't hold. The alien managed to slow himself down just enough to avoid the point of the spear, landing on top of the pole instead. The spear ripped from Kyoko's unwilling fingers, and she gasped, feeling two fingers crack and break. The pain was instantly muted by her Puella Magi body, and she leapt back and out of the way of Dodoria's next blast of energy.

Dodoria stood up, keeping his feet on top of Kyoko's spear. She drew back, cradling her right hand with the two broken fingers. She didn't feel the pain, but holding onto a spear would be tricky. Healing with magic would take time – fine time for Sayaka and her instant unconscious healing ability to be gone.

"Well, well, well, girlie," Dodoria said, grinning. "Looks like you're running out of options."

Kyoko snorted, hoping that he would keep talking long enough for her to finish healing the broken fingers. Her Soul Gem pulsed wearily. She needed to find some Grief Cubes after this.

"Options? I've got plenty of 'em. More than you," Kyoko retorted, continuing her slow backwards movement. Space between them was absolutely necessary. She'd have to dodge something sooner or later.

Dodoria reached down and picked up Kyoko's fallen spear. He waved it, almost mockingly.

"Looks to me like your fighting style needs this thing," he said, his grin getting wider. "You don't hand fight. And now I've got your weapon."

Kyoko could have laughed out loud.

"If you think that's the only weapon I've got, then you're a moron," she said. She was careful to keep the wince from her face as finger number one snapped back into its normal position.

Dodoria hefted the spear, and then – without warning – hurled it.

Startled, all Kyoko could do was fall on her butt to avoid the strike. He threw with more force and speed than she had ever been able to with a weapon of that size!

In the wake of her loss of balance, Dodoria surged forward. Swearing, Kyoko created another spear with her uninjured right hand. He wouldn't be expecting it – maybe she could skewer him this time!

Something small and fast crashed into Dodoria, flinging him off course. The round pink alien tumbled across the ground like a giant bouncy ball, and Kyoko almost giggled. Damn, she was starting to get silly. That meant her magic was much lower than she liked.

Gohan landed on the ground in front of Kyoko, fists clenched and face contorted with anger.

"Leave her alone you bastard!" he yelled.

Kyoko had been about to get up, but Gohan's colorful choice of words made her pause. She almost giggled again, and then forced herself back to her battle professionalism. Who knew a little runt like him had a voice on him like that?

Dodoria got up without a problem.

"You wanna play, runt?" he said, looking irritated. "I don't got time for kids."

Gohan didn't reply – he just thrust one palm in front of him. Golden energy exploded from his hand, and Dodoria only barely dodged.

Kyoko's other finger popped back into place and she tested the hand. She had enough magic left to skewer Dodoria, so long as she didn't sustain much more hindering damage.

Gohan shot into the air after Dodoria, and Kyoko yanked a new spear into her hands. The little boy was completely pounding Dodoria, Kyoko realized with a start. The two opponents threw out wild punches and kicks in the air, and though Dodoria was much bigger and even faster than Gohan, Gohan was a smaller target. He used his size and agility to his advantage, getting in and out of Dodoria's reach before the pudgy alien could manage to change the direction of his blows.

Despite Gohan's obvious ability, Kyoko refused to let her guard down. She couldn't get up there to help, but she spread her stance and fixed her grip on her spear. Eventually, one or both of them would be forced to the ground, and then Kyoko would be ready to take the distracted Dodoria down –

As if on cue, the pink alien managed to land a harsh blow into Gohan's stomach. The boy's eyes bulged and Kyoko could almost see the air rushing from his lungs. Grinning, Dodoria flung Gohan towards the earth.

Kyoko forgot everything she had planned. Without thinking, her spear dropped from her grip and she lunged forward. Gohan tumbled into her arms. She was unprepared for his weight and dropped to her knees.

Her instincts screamed at her, and she looked up to see Dodoria hurtling towards them –

"Gohan! Kyoko! Close your eyes!" Krillin's voice cut through Kyoko's buzzing mind.

What? Why the hell would she –

As if he knew what was coming, Gohan snapped his eyes shut. Brutally aware of her situation, Kyoko couldn't think of anything else to do but trust Krillin. Every instinct inside her screaming and argued – there was no reason to trust them. No reason at all.

She closed her eyes just in time. Even through closed eyelids, she could see the brilliant flash of light. Dodoria cried out, and when Kyoko chanced a peek, the light had faded, and Dodoria was stuck in midair, rubbing furiously at his eyes as though blind.

Gohan had regained his wind and tugged at Kyoko's arm.

"Let's go! Before he recovers!" he said.

Kyoko hated running away. She had hated it since before she was a magical girl – the fact had gotten her into a lot of fist fights with guys on the street.

But she had already seen what this alien could do, and she knew her magic store was not up to a second round.

She pushed to her feet, made her remaining spears vanish, and hurried to catch up with the others.


	6. Peaceful Wrath

(this chapter somehow got deleted, or maybe I somehow forgot to post it. I'm sorry for the inconvenience and the false alarm that I've posted a new chapter).

An explosion rang across the landscape.

Homura paused in her current task of using her Soul Gem to estimate Frieza and his lackey's present location. Vegeta glanced up from his position at the top of a mesa. The two hadn't spoken since their adventure in the canyon, except to exchange a few words about which direction they should take. Presently, they were in a maze of canyons, mesas, and rivers, with very little flat ground in between. Homura preferred it to the barren fields, and she could sense Vegeta did as well.

Light pulsed in the near distance as the echo of the explosion faded, and Homura's Soul Gem flashed in warning. Vegeta touched down to the ledge where Homura had taken watch.

"Any guesses?" she asked him.

"Dodoria," Vegeta said, almost immediately. "The chi is most definitely his. Besides, he's the only dimwit that would blow up an entire range without orders – and I don't sense Frieza around to give them."

He glanced at Homura for confirmation, and she shook her head.

"You're right, there's only one power source," she said, standing.

She returned her Gem to her ring.

"Our course of action?"

Vegeta grinned. Homura didn't like it, and she hoped she wouldn't see him do it often.

"Dodoria's alone," he said. "There's no Frieza around to step in if things get nasty."

"You propose an attack, then?" Homura said.

"You learn quickly. Let's go."

He took off. Homura, who could not fly as he did and was in no mood to reveal her wings ability if she didn't have to, had to resort to following him along the ground. He seemed used to giving orders, she thought. As well as having them followed. Well. She'd let him be the leader for now. It would make working with him that much easier.

As soon as battle begun, however, she'd use her own instincts.

Vegeta dropped down lower so that he was hidden among the canyons, and so that he was within speaking range of Homura. Homura felt her Soul Gem pulse and the tug at her mind altered.

"He's moving," she said.

Vegeta nodded, as though he had already come to that conclusion. It wasn't long before a comet of energy caught both of their attentions. There was Dodoria, the pink, pudgy alien, that she had seen earlier. Not as strong as Zarbon, she had decided, and certainly nowhere close to the range of Frieza. Vegeta could probably handle this himself, if he chose.

Homura wasn't sure she was ready for Vegeta to find her not useful, however.

"I'd prefer if Frieza did not realize we were allied at the present moment," Vegeta said. "That will give us an advantage."

Homura nodded. She understood his strategy. Dodoria would never know she was there; all she had to do was stand within the canyons and attack at long range, or through her time freeze.

"I'll get him out of the sky," she said. "Can you handle it after that?"

Vegeta's lips twitched into a half-smile, as if to say, did you even have to ask?

Homura's gem grew into its diamond shape on the back of her hand, and her battle costume emerged. Instantly, she froze time. Dodoria was not more than twenty feet in front of them by now, his bulbous backside to them. Leaving the frozen Vegeta behind, Homura pushed off the ledge and let her wings appear. Vegeta would never see them if she only used them in a millisecond.

She used her momentum to glide over the top of Dodoria. For the hundredth time, she thought that she should really learn to actually fly, instead of just gliding or slowing a fall. Before she lost her speed, she produced a grenade and pulled the pin, dropping it towards Dodoria. Her wings vanished and she dropped to the ground, landing and rolling behind an outcropping before releasing her hold on time.

The explosion thrust Dodoria downwards. He landed in the water with a splash akin to a small tsunami.

Homura readied two handguns as Vegeta dropped to the ground, waiting for Dodoria to reemerge. She heard the splashing of something big and clumsy pulling itself from the water.

"Hey, Dodoria. You're looking a little unkempt. Been swimming on the job, have you?"

It took all of Homura's willpower not to groan. She hated fighters that couldn't keep their mouths shut. There was no point in taunting the enemy; it was far better to strike and be done with it. Kyoko had been like that too. It had driven Homura mad.

"Vegeta," Dodoria said, anger coloring his gravelly tones. "I should've known – backstabbing was always your style."

"Zarbon and Frieza aren't here to back you up," Vegeta said. "I'd watch what you say, if I were you."

He snorted with laughter.

"Not that that'll change anything – I'll still kill you anyway."

"Why you – Saiyan trash!" Dodoria shouted.

Saiyan? That was a new term. Was it Vegeta's race, or was it simply the term for humans? She still didn't believe Vegeta was human, though, so it had to be the alien race he belonged to.

It took a moment for Dodoria to regain his composure. The pudgy alien didn't seem well stocked in rhetoric.

"All right, Vegeta," he said. "Hand over that scouter, and I'll let you leave alive. Sound like a fair deal?"

The scouter? Homura allowed herself a peek around her cover.

Vegeta reached up to pull the red eye piece from his face.

"Oh, you mean this?" he said, sounding amused. "What, you lost your little toy, Dodoria? How sad."

"You –" Dodoria started.

Vegeta dropped the device onto the ground, stopping Dodoria's sentence in its tracks.

"Go ahead," Vegeta said. "Take it. It's yours."

Dodoria blinked, surprised. Homura couldn't help but feel a small stab of surprise herself. What exactly was Vegeta planning?

After a beat, Dodoria smiled.

"Well, well, Vegeta," he said, taking a few steps forward. "I have to say, I thought I'd be prying that thing from your cold, dead fingers."

Homura sucked in a soft breath. In a moment, Dodoria would surely bend over to retrieve the device, and at that moment, Homura could strike –

With a sudden motion, Vegeta raised one foot and stomped on the scouter, smashing it into a hundred pieces. The effect on Dodoria was immediate. The alien's eyes bulged wide with shock.

"You – you idiot!" he shouted. "That was the last scouter on the planet! Now you'll be just as lost as we are – you'll never find the Nameks or Frieza!"

Vegeta snorted.

"Unlike you, I actually learn new tricks," Vegeta said. "I picked this one up on Earth. Now I can sense power levels without the aid of a scouter."

He smirked.

"So that gives me the upper hand –"

All right. The macho banter had gone far enough. If Vegeta didn't want to wrap this up, _she _would. Time froze in shades of gray, and she straightened to look over her cover. Vegeta's still figure stood in her sight line of Dodoria, and, not without annoyance, Homura stepped out from behind the cover so that she had a clear view of her target.

She fired until both handguns were empty and their contents were frozen in midair. Time restarted as she stepped back behind her cover. The sickening squelch of bullets ripping through flesh was uncomfortable, and Dodoria cried out. She was much more used to the silent strike of bullets punching through witches and demons, or the shatter of a Soul Gem – and even that shattering sound still sent shivers down her spine, threatening to turn her back into the teary, terrified girl with glasses she had once been.

"You – scum –" Dodoria yelled. As far as Homura could tell from her hiding place, her bullets – aimed to maim, not to kill – had not hindered Dodoria as much as she had hoped. "Then those two I chased earlier – those Earthling scum must have been your lackeys!"

Earthlings? There were other humans here? Homura's heart skipped a beat. What on earth could that mean?

"Earthlings?" Vegeta said, and he sounded just as surprised as Homura. "You must be mistaken. There's no way those Earthling weaklings could have made it here so quickly."

"You – can't lie your way – out of this one – Vegeta," Dodoria said. His labored speech made Homura think that maybe her bullets had done something after all. "I'll – rip you – to pieces!"

Homura could not quite see what was happening, but she sensed, rather than heard, a flurry of motion: punches, kicks, dodges, the shuffling of feet and the moments spent airborne. It didn't last long.

Dodoria cried out again, and this time, Homura did not feel that her stealth was completely necessary. She eased her head above the outcropping, and winced.

Vegeta had Dodoria from behind, the pudgy alien's arms twisted and pulled back painfully. The seemingly strong Dodoria could not break Vegeta's grip, and the spiky haired man seemed to be enjoying Dodoria's helplessness.

"How does it feel, Dodoria?" Vegeta said. "What is it like to know that you've been entirely bested by the one person you thought you'd always have under your boot?"

He pulled on Dodoria harder, causing the alien to bend over almost perpendicular with his legs. This prompted another cry from Dodoria, and Homura's pulse raced.

This was no way to fight. Torturing and gloating over your enemy, when it was for certain that you would win anyway? Vegeta was fighting dirty – surely he must feel it beneath him? Dodoria was certainly a piece of scum, but that was no reason to cause unnecessary harm. Homura's fists clenched, and she pulled a sniper rifle from her shield. Her stomach turned with what she was planning to do.

But a mercy kill would be far better than the pain Vegeta was inflicting.

Homura raised herself over the outcropping, bracing her arms against the rock. She brought her eye to the scope.

"W-Wait!" Dodoria said. "I-If you let me go, I'll tell you what really happened to your planet!"

Vegeta didn't even pause, although Homura did.

"Planet Vegeta was blown up with a meteorite, what else is there to know?" the Saiyan said, though a dark curiosity flashed in his eyes.

"If you kill me now, you'll never know," Dodoria said.

Vegeta hesitated. Homura returned her eye to the scope. What now? With a brutal motion, Vegeta pulled back even harder on Dodoria's arms, almost hard enough to break them – then let go. The pudgy alien stumbled forward, rubbing at his arms.

"Start talking," Vegeta said, his voice at a dangerous tone.

Dodoria half-smiled, still looking nervous. He took a tentative backwards step.

"Frieza told you that Planet Vegeta was blown up by a meteor, but that was a lie," Dodoria said. "In reality, the Saiyans had become...a little too powerful for his liking."

Vegeta's expression was unreadable. Dodoria continued to take slow backwards steps away from Vegeta.

"No Saiyan alone could prove any threat to Lord Frieza, but fighters like yourself kept emerging," Dodoria continued. "And if the whole race mutinied, as they often whispered about, well, then that might actually pose a serious problem."

Dodoria started to rise off the ground. Obviously, he hoped to escape while he was talking.

"So, long story short, Frieza blew up your planet," Dodoria said, with a malicious grin. "But Frieza thought you were useful enough to keep around, so he sent you off on a special mission while he cleaned up house. You should feel lucky, Vegeta. Frieza cared enough to spare you."

Homura's heart fluttered with just a little too much nervousness than she cared to admit. Frieza had destroyed an entire _planet_? Did he have access to weapons much more powerful than any human ones, or did this strange energy manipulation she had seen before play any sort of role in his power? She shifted her gaze for a moment to Vegeta. His entire planet had disappeared in an instant, destroyed by some crazed being that was certainly more powerful than Homura had ever faced. Did he feel anything? She could hardly imagine the Saiyan man to be prone to any kind of tearful emotions.

She tore herself away from pointless wondering, forcing her mind back into soldier mode. Much longer, and Dodoria would be out of range of Homura's rifle. But Vegeta was the wild card here – he could attack or not. And Homura had her money on attack.

"So there. That's the story," Dodoria said. "Now, I'll just be taking off here –"

"I don't think so, Dodoria," Vegeta said, an unsettling grin crossing his face. "But before you die, I want you to know – I do this not for my planet, not for my race –"

Homura's instincts went haywire. Rocks started to raise from the ground; the air pressure increased dramatically. A blue, fiery energy gathered around Vegeta – he would completely vaporize Dodoria with that amount of energy!

"I do this because you thought you could keep me, the prince of Saiyans, as your slave!"

Dodoria fled. Homura already knew it was far too late for him.

But being vaporized, in her opinion, was far too cruel and violent.

She froze time, jerked the scope back to her eye, and fired. Time restarted, and just before Vegeta's energy beam reached him, Homura's bullet pierced Dodoria's skull. He was dead and dropping from the sky by the time the energy vaporized him.

The sonic boom of the attack echoed across the barren plain for only a single moment. Then the buzz of silence set in, and Homura stood up. She pushed her rifle back into her shield. With luck, Vegeta would never know what she had done.

His expression told her otherwise.

"And why," he said testily, "did you do that?"

"What?" Homura said, raising an eyebrow.

"I had him cornered. There was no reason for you to step in. Either time."

Homura shrugged.

"I dislike pointless banter during a fight," she said. "And vaporization is not a merciful death, I would assume."

"Scum like him deserve no mercy," he said.

His dark eyes fixed on her, narrow and angry. This was less about Homura's decisions and more about Vegeta's pride, she realized. He hadn't liked her stepping in without him telling her to. Well. He would have to learn that she took orders from no one, or they would have to kill each other.

Homura ran a hair through her hair.

"'Scum' is relative," Homura said softly. "No one truly deserves death."

Vegeta opened his mouth to reply, but Homura beat him to it.

"And what about you?" she said. "Did you mean those words?"

Vegeta blinked, obviously thrown off guard by the question.

"What words?" he said.

"Are you going to stand there and make me believe that you don't care that Frieza destroyed your planet? Killed thousands of your people? Am I to believe that you feel absolutely nothing when you think of all of those deaths?"

Vegeta blinked again, slower this time. He crossed his arms across his chest, silently considering her. The stand off lasted for an indefinite moment, as a soft breeze trickled through the nearby canyons to play with Homura's hair.

Homura broke off her gaze first, turning away.

"I see," she said.

A beat passed before Vegeta made any reaction. Finally, he snorted softly.

"You talk like an old man," he said. "An old Earthling man. Saiyans care nothing for the deaths of others. It's pointless. Why should I mourn those who were not worthy to survive?"

Homura felt her fists clench without her permission, but she did not turn to face Vegeta again.

"If someone dies...it doesn't mean they are unworthy of life."

Vegeta laughed softly. It was not a kind laugh.

"Death can always be avoided," he said. "Death is just a way of getting rid of the people that don't matter, and people that are in the way. Once the Dragon Balls grant me immortality, I won't have to be bent by those rules."

The Dragon Balls? Homura was unsure of what those were, but she wasn't about to ask Vegeta.

"And immortality is your goal, then?" Homura said. "And these...Dragon Balls...will help you attain that."

This time she turned to see Vegeta.

"Of course," he said, smiling darkly. "And what about you, Homura? What exactly is your goal?"

Homura's heart pulsed with a pain of remembrance. Her mind's eye cast back to that girl, turning to her in the hallway to the nurse's office, her pink pigtails glimmering in the afternoon light, as she smiled and told her that she could be important, more than the sickly, awkward girl who had missed years while she was stuck in the hospital.

Vegeta was still watching her, waiting for an answer. Homura looked up at him, aware of the sorrow that still remained in her eyes.

"My goal is far away," she said softly. "And you would never understand it."


	7. Bad Omen

_Bad Omen_

Vegeta and Homura did not speak as they continued on. The sameness of the landscape was starting to wear at Homura, not that she would let it show. The intense, constant heat of the sun was also irritating. Did night not exist on this planet? If not, it was hard to understand how anything lived here. Constant sunlight would burn the planet to a crisp.

For the millionth time, she sent a desperate thought to Madoka, hoping that she could hear.

_Why am I here? _She thought. _I thought I was supposed to fight the demons. But I haven't seen a single one, or even sensed one. Do they exist on this planet? If not, then why did you bring me here, Madoka? How can I survive without Grief Cubes?_

She sent a sidelong glance to Vegeta, flying alongside her. He wasn't looking at her.

_How can I survive with this person as my ally?_ She thought, although this particular statement was more for herself than Madoka.

Like usual, Madoka didn't reply. But Homura was pretty certain that she had heard. She had to believe that, or she might just go insane.

Vegeta started to slow, and Homura gratefully eased up on her pace. She had never, no matter how long she had done it, liked running in heels.

The Saiyan man came to a full stop, and Homura released her battle costume. It would do no good to run out of magic now, and she only had three Grief Cubes left. That would barely account for a single purification.

"So?" she said.

Vegeta pointed down into the valley before them.

A little cluster of white stone huts gleamed down below. Despite herself, Homura was surprised. She had known that there were people on this planet, but for some reason, she had thought they were all from other places, like Frieza and his men. Down there, however, a green-skinned race with antennae and provincial clothing moved around the houses, their voices just barely floating to her on the wind. She didn't know what they were saying due to the fact that they spoke another language, but their tasks and bustle seemed almost normal. Some dug furrows in the ground while others scattered seeds. A few smaller figures, probably children, ran around and under some of the older-looking aliens, laughing so loudly that Homura could hear. Her heart jumped almost painfully at the sound – so normal, so real. It was surprising to see how even an alien race could be so similar to her own.

"Obviously, Frieza hasn't found this village yet," Vegeta said. "And it's likely no one will for a while, considering they don't have their scouters."

At Homura's questioning glance, he elaborated.

"They use it to sense power levels," he said. "To track energy sources."

Homura nodded. Her Soul Gem did much the same thing.

"If we get just one Dragon Ball, then even when Frieza locates and collects the other six, they'll be useless to him," he said. "Then, he'll do the rest of the work for me, and all we have to do is steal the last unattended Dragon Balls."

"All right," Homura said. She filed away that information about these mysterious Dragon Balls for later use. "And how do you propose getting this Dragon Ball from them?"

The look on his face made her feel that he wasn't planning on asking nicely. The laughter of the children floated towards them again as the wind changed direction, and Homura's hands twitched halfway into fists. She forced herself to become impassive, however. If things got messy, she would simply freeze time and stop him – but it wouldn't be a good idea to let Vegeta know that was what she planned.

"Are you coming?" he said, already headed down towards the village. "I may need your help persuading them."

This time, Homura's hands did curl into fists, and she jumped lightly from the cliff edge.

Their arrival in the village was noted almost immediately. Childish laughter halted, and the small figures instantly disappeared behind older ones, who stood up quickly. Those in the fields paused in their tasks, looking up with eyes narrowing.

Vegeta strode confidently into the range of huts, Homura a mere shadow behind him. Their suspicious, almost fearful gazes burned into her skin. Her nails bit into her palms.

_I will not see pointless destruction. This I swear._

An old, hunched alien with wrinkled green skin stood, leaning against a cane.

"Who are you?" he said. "What business do you have here?"

"I am Vegeta," Vegeta said. "And someone told me that you have a Dragon Ball here."

The old alien's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, you would be correct," he said. "However, we do not hand our sacred objects to people like you."

Vegeta's smirk deepened.

"People like me, hm? That's not very nice, now is it..."

His hand curled into a finger gun at his side, and Homura tensed.

"I'm old enough to know a dark heart when I see one," the old alien said. "You would use the Dragon Balls for selfish reasons. Only those pure of heart and will may collect the Dragon Balls."

"That's unfortunate," Vegeta said.

And then he pointed his finger gun at the alien and fired.

Instantly, Homura switched into battle mode, time freezing around her. She surged forward and put herself between the alien and Vegeta, bracing her arm behind her shield.

_Please hold, please hold, please hold, please hold..._

Time restarted.

The purple energy beam shot towards her, hit the shield, and bounced off and up, flying harmlessly into the sky.

Vegeta's dark brows narrowed over his eyes. He snorted softly.

"That was a mistake, Homura," he said.

"What you're doing is a mistake," Homura said. "Killing a bunch of defenseless people is much below your skills."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. Step aside, or I'll make you."

"Try it, Vegeta."

Vegeta paused for only the briefest moment, probably to give her a minute to reconsider.

But Homura had no intentions of reconsidering. She reached out with her left hand and plucked her bow from the nothingness. Energy started to curl around Vegeta's finger. Homura pulled the empty bow back, a purple arrow appearing at the string.

But before either of them could release their attacks, one of the children crawled out from behind its elder, trotting over to Homura.

"I told you," he said softly. "I saw this one coming."

Homura glanced down at the child for the briefest moment. It was very difficult to tell by the voice whether it was male or female, and come to think of it, she wasn't even sure if aliens had such differentiations. The little alien child stared right through her, eyes a clouded yellow, as though blind.

The people around them were whispering, eyes wide, staring at Homura. Vegeta seemed just as surprised as Homura, glancing around, his energy attack forgotten.

"Are you certain, Neyru?" the elder said, eyes fixed on Homura. Homura was starting to feel very uncomfortable with all the eyes on her. "This is the one you saw coming?"

"The Earthling with two bows," the child, Neyru, said, nodding furiously. "You've got one in your hair, and one in your hand. Both from Hope's hands, right?"

Homura's fingers darted up to the ribbon in her hair, and then the bow in her hand. Both...both from...

"Hope?" she whispered. "Are – are you talking about...Madoka?"

Neyru shrugged.

"Only you would know Hope's real name," the child said. "But Hope told me you were coming. Hope said that you were here to save us."

"Madoka..." Homura whispered, her heart fluttering. Was it possible that the people of this world knew about Madoka? And...what was Neyru trying to say? She forgot about Vegeta, dropping to one knee beside the little alien.

"What...what am I supposed to save you from?" she said. "From Frieza? Or..."

Neyru shifted, suddenly uneasy.

"No...not from Frieza...Frieza is killing our planet, it's true but...our planet was already dying. And we're not the first."

"What nonsense is this brat spouting?" Vegeta said.

Homura shot him a glare as Neyru continued to speak.

"The shadow is eating the worlds," Neyru said, and the child's voice began to shake. "I see it. It's here now. It wants the Dragon Balls."

"Something else that wants the Dragon Balls?" Homura said. "Why? What is this shadow?"

But Neyru could not stop trembling now, and it was all the little alien could do to keep talking.

"The Dragon Balls are made of all of our wishes and hopes, the emotions of all of our people across the ages. That's why they can grant wishes. That's why they're so powerful, and why the shadow wants to consume them. Once the shadow is done with us, with our planet, it's going to move on. It's going to take your world, and then it's going to overwhelm the rest of the universe."

Neyru grabbed the folds of her skirt.

"You can't let the shadow win!" Neyru said, and now tears spilled from those clouded eyes. "Hope can't stand against alone! That's why Hope brought you here, so you can defeat the shadow! You have to save us – you're the only hope left!"

Homura, startled by the outburst and unsure of what to do, ended up awkwardly patting the child's head.

"It's okay," she murmured. "I promise you. It's going to be okay."

Neyru trembled, still unable to look right at her.

"Don't worry," she said. "I keep my promises. I always have."

No one could have understood how true those words were, but Neyru seemed to. The child nodded solemnly, tears gone.

"Neyru sees things that we can't," the elder said. "It has always been that way."

The old alien turned with a painful wince.

"Dini. Go get the Dragon Ball. Things are out of our hands now."

The tall alien that was spoken to seemed about to refuse, sending an angry glare at Vegeta. But the moment passed, and the alien disappeared into one of the huts. Upon returning, Homura drew in a sharp breath. The huge orange sphere glinted in the sunlight, red stars suspended inside like gems. The elder nodded, and Dini, who carried the sphere, walked over to Homura.

"This is not just some plaything," the alien said to her. "Don't treat it as such."

As Homura took the large sphere – she could barely fit her arms around it – she felt a strange, warm pulse. Her heart quickened, and her Soul Gem pulsed at her finger, almost in tune with the giant sphere. She felt tears threatening to spill, and her hands trembled. She could feel the wishes of centuries contained in this object – of course it was no plaything. It was as close to a Soul Gem as anything she had ever seen, almost a living consciousness.

Dini leaned in towards her, speaking quietly.

"Be careful with that one," Dini said, flicking his gaze over to Vegeta. "Even once he has what he wants, I doubt he'll change his mind about destroying things because he wants to."

"I understand," Homura said. "Thank you."

Dini nodded.

"I pray that Hope really does guide your steps, as Neyru says. I think you're going to need the help."

Homura dipped her head in thanks, turned, and walked to Vegeta. His eyes narrowed.

"So," he said. "When did you become a Namek celebrity?"

Homura shrugged.

"This is what you're after, isn't it?" she said, hefting the Dragon Ball. "Go ahead. Take it. I have no need of it."

Vegeta's eyes narrowed even more, suspicious. When Homura did not move, he reached out and took the Ball.

"You're smarter than I thought," he said. "Were you really going to get yourself killed over a couple of backwater Nameks?"

Homura just met his eyes levelly. He should understand that she was willing to fight him whenever she needed to. He half-smirked.

"Well," he said. "You'd better hope that our confrontation never occurs."

"Same to you," Homura said coolly.

Vegeta started to rise into the air. She could see his free hand clenching into a fist, and she could sense the invisible energy growing around it. Homura cut off his obvious plan to blow the village up by reaching into her shield and removing a grenade, hooking her finger into the pin.

"If you turn around and blow this place up, I will freeze time," she said. "You can try to kill me before that, but trust me when I say your speed will mean nothing once I have frozen myself into a single millisecond."

Vegeta's dark brows came together, and his energy collection stopped.

"And you'll blow this whole place sky high to get me?" he said. "Not very noble when you think how that will also blow up this little hovel you're so desperate to protect."

"I said nothing about blowing you up," Homura said. "But I will take the Dragon Ball. And I will take it away. And then I will blow it up. So much for your dreams of immortality after that, hm?"

Vegeta's eyes grew wider and wider as she spoke. The silence between them grew.

And then, inexplicably, he threw his head back and laughed.

Homura did not let down her guard – in fact, she tightened her hold on the grenade pin. When Vegeta finally stopped laughing, he grinned down at her.

"You know, I think I'm starting to like you," he said. "You know how to bargain. Very well, I will leave this little eyesore alone – on a condition."

Homura hesitated.

"What condition?" she said slowly.

He grinned.

"You tell me all about this 'Madoka' you kept whimpering about, and whatever else you know about what that brat was spewing. Deal?"

Homura tensed, but she really didn't see much of a choice. She took the hand he offered her.

"Deal."

And as they left the village behind, Homura could feel a shadow creeping over her. Neyru's words echoed in her mind.

_"Once the shadow is done with us, with our planet, it's going to move on. It's going to take your world, and then it's going to overwhelm the rest of the universe...You can't let the shadow win! That's why Hope brought you here!"_

Her hands trembled.

Could the shadow he was talking about possibly be...?

A/N: I'll end it on a cliffhanger, then. :) This chapter was tough to write, because the Nameks don't have genders and I was trying to write without using gender pronouns. That was certainly difficult. Okay, so the next chapter should be up next Sunday, or maybe earlier if I can. Hope you all are liking it so far!


	8. Confession

Kyoko scanned the same landscape for the five hundredth time. Or maybe the five billionth time. It was hard to tell. She slumped down onto the mesa and dug into her pocket. A pile of black, perfect cubes tumbled into her palm, and she counted them.

Six. She had six Grief Cubes. She had started out with ten – that last battle had taken a lot more out of her then she had thought.

She looked up again, irritated at the constant glare of sunlight. When did the sun set here? She had thought she had seen it on the horizon a long time ago, not that it had changed the constant light.

With a sigh, she shoved the Grief Cubes back into her pocket. If she had to sustain any more battles like the last one, she wasn't going to last long. She hadn't seen a single demon, or even a hint of miasma, since she had arrived on this godforsaken hunk of grass and trees. Come to think of it…she hadn't seen Kyubey either. It had been a really long time since she had been free of the little space ferret's constant telepathy spam.

She chewed on her lip, feeling more and more nervous by the minute. No demons, no miasma, no Grief Cubes, and no Kyubey. This was getting too weird. Why was she even here? She thought back to that moment back in Mitakihara. The miasma had just finished clearing when she had seen someone walking towards her, difficult to see as though there was still a fog. The only thing Kyoko had really been able to make out was that she had a pair of short, fancy wings, glowing a soft pink.

_"Kyoko-san…Homura-chan needs help. Will you help her?"_

Kyoko shook her head at herself, wondering again why she had said yes. There had been something about that girl. Something that made her worthy of trust, like they had met before. Despite never having actually seen the weird girl before, Kyoko had liked her. Man, she was stupid. She'd been here for hours and hadn't seen a glimpse of Homura. What was she really here for, anyway?

Kyoko stood. Okay, she had wasted enough time. Krillin and Gohan were probably waiting for her, even though she had told them to go ahead.

She clambered down from the mesa. Sure enough, there was Krillin, Gohan, and the little alien kid.

"What were you looking for?" Krillin asked, looking just a tad suspicious.

"Homura the walking enigma," Kyoko said. "And demons."

Krillin looked confused, but he didn't really press the matter.

"Okay, well let's get going," he said. "We're almost to the cave. Bulma's probably freaking out since we've been gone so long."

Kyoko hadn't heard of this Bulma before, but decided now wasn't the time to ask questions. Cover would be a fantastic idea.

It was hard to tell how long it had taken them to get to the cave, seeing as the sunlight never changed and Kyoko's watch was dead. She reached for another pocky stick and found that her box was empty. She grumbled, but followed Krillin and Gohan into the cave. The alien kid gripped Gohan's arm tightly, looking scared.

Kyoko was thinking darkly that she definitely did _not_ want to hang out in a cave where there was most certainly nothing to eat when suddenly, she realized that there was a small, dome-like house nestled snugly inside the cave. There was something written in large letters across the top, but they were in English and all Kyoko could identify was "C."

Krillin had barely raised his hand to knock on the door when it burst open, smacking him in the face.

"Where – Have – You – BEEN!" a voice bellowed.

A woman stood in the doorway. It was hard to tell how old she was, but her face was youthful and framed by soft blueish hair that fell just past her chin. She was probably pretty, considering her well-developed body, but at the moment her face was contorted strangely with anger and it was very hard to tell.

"C-Calm down, Bulma," Krillin said, rubbing his cheek. "We ran into a few, ah, complications, that's all –"

"I have been waiting here, absolutely defenseless, for the past THREE HOURS! THREE! HOURS!" the woman called Bulma yelled. "What if Vegeta stopped by, huh? Or one of those other creeps! I would have died! Do you hear me? DIED!"

"Geez, calm down, drama queen," Kyoko said, annoyed with her outburst. Judging by her build, the woman was significantly older than Kyoko, and it irked her to see an older woman freaking out over nothing.

Bulma's furious eyes turned towards her, then cooled down, blinking several times.

"Hey, who are you?" she said.

She looked down at the little alien, who shied away behind Gohan.

"And another one? Where are you guys finding all these people?"

"I 'found' myself, thanks," Kyoko said irritably. "I'm just tagging along for the security of numbers. So who are you?"

"Kyoko, this is Bulma," Krillin said quickly. "She's really good with machines and vehicles and stuff. She piloted the spaceship that brought us here. Bulma, this is Kyoko. She helped us fight some of the aliens we met."

"Hey," Kyoko said, nodding.

"And this is..." Krillin said, looking at the alien. "Actually, I don't know your name yet."

The alien swallowed, hunching up in himself.

"I...I'm Dende."

Dende swallowed again.

"Um...who exactly are you all?"

"I'm Gohan," Gohan said. "And this is Krillin, and Bulma, and Kyoko. We're from Earth – or..."

He looked over at Kyoko, looking curious.

"Yeah, I'm from Earth too," she said. "I would think that was obvious."

Her stomach growled loudly, loud enough for everyone to hear. She didn't bother feeling embarrassed.

"Anyone got anything to eat?" she said.

Bulma took a deep breath, as though calming herself down, and then turned to the door.

"Okay, whatever. I'll ask questions later. Everyone inside, inside."

The inside of the dome-shaped home was built for compactness. Everything was rounded and in various shades of blue or white. Everything smelled so clean that it was like walking into a hospital. Kyoko wrinkled her nose. If they got attacked while they were in this thing, it would be near impossible to maneuver. Probably the point of it was to stay hidden, but still.

"Okay," Bulma said.

She pulled open a mini fridge and dug around for a minute, then pulled out some small, silver packets.

"Krillin, put these in the microwave," she said, throwing them at Krillin.

"Huh? Why me?" said Krillin, only barely catching them before they hit him in the face. "You're closer."

"Just do it, Krillin!" Bulma said.

Wincing, Krillin went to do what he was told. Bulma stomped over to the small round table and slid into the booth around it. Dende hadn't let go of Gohan's arm yet, and the young boy had to help the alien slide up into the booth. Kyoko decided to stay standing. She hated being cramped.

"So what's the deal?" Bulma said. "Did you guys find the Dragon Balls or what?"

"Well, see that's the problem," Krillin said.

He turned away from the microwave, which had started buzzing.

"There's a bunch of really strong fighters here," he said. "And they've got most of the Dragon Balls already."

"How strong?" Bulma asked.

"One of them makes Vegeta look like a kitten."

Bulma's face drained of all color. Kyoko felt like she should feel left out of the conversation, but she just really needed to eat something. Like right now.

"And what's your story?" Bulma said, and Kyoko suddenly realized she was being talked to. "How did you get here?"

Kyoko shrugged.

"I was on earth, finished off a couple demons, and some girl came up and told me a friend needed help. Next thing I knew, I was here."

Bulma's eyes narrowed.

"You were just...here."

"Yep. Is that food done yet?"

Bulma stood up, planting her hands on the table.

"Your story is impossible," she said. "Even if you somehow managed to fall through a worm hole, which don't exist on Earth and would kill you without a protective suit, you still wouldn't get this far in just a minute –"

"Split second, really," Kyoko muttered.

"That's beside the point!" Bulma said, slamming one hand on the table. "It took us almost six months to get here with cutting edge technology! It would be a miracle to get here much faster than that!"

"I wouldn't call a hundred year old spaceship cutting technology," Krillin muttered.

Bulma glared at him, and he quickly looked at the microwave instead.

"Anyway, how can we trust you...uh, whatever your name is!"

"Kyoko," Kyoko said, feeling irritated. "Kyoko Sakura. And anyway, what's it matter to you? I've got nothing to do with you, or those freaking child murderers back there, or anyone else on this godforsaken hunk of dirt. I'm only here to find Homura, and that's it. Get over yourself."

Bulma opened her mouth to reply, but then the microwave dinged. The room feel eerily silent as Krillin popped the door open. What had gone in as silver packets came out as a plate of macaroni and cheese and chicken. Well. That was new.

Krillin set the plate on the table.

"Kyoko's okay, Bulma," he said. "Sure, her story's weird, but she was just as willing as we were to fight with Frieza and his men. More willing, actually. She's a really strong ally."

"Kyoko helped us rescue Dende," Gohan said.

Bulma folded her arms, not looking convinced.

"Are you guys gonna eat that before it gets cold, or not?" Kyoko said.

She snagged a piece of chicken and popped it in her mouth. Bulma sent her another glare, and went to get some plates, divvying up the food. She slid the plates in different directions until everyone had one, then grabbed her own plate and slumped in her seat, sulking.

Dende looked at the food without eating it, looking almost confused.

"Hey. Kid," Kyoko said, her plate already woefully clean. "Why aren't you eating?"

She swore to herself that if Dende said something along the lines of being too sad to eat, she was going to punch the kid. She hated when people refused to eat when they were sad – it made absolutely no sense, and wasted perfectly good food.

"Um...my people don't eat food," Dende mumbled. "We just drink water..."

"Seriously?" Kyoko said, dumbfounded. This planet seemed worse every second. "Well, if you're not gonna eat it, can I?"

Bulma sent another glare at her, and Kyoko noticed with a burst of annoyance that the older woman had left a significant portion of her food on her plate.

"What? You got a problem, Bulma?" Kyoko shot at her, starting on the plate of food that Dende shoved gratefully at her. "Somebody's gotta eat it. By the look of things, it's not gonna be you."

"I'm on a diet," Bulma said.

Which was probably the worst thing she could have said to Kyoko.

Kyoko slammed her plate down, and the room went silent. Gohan's idle chatter at Dende faded, and everyone stared at Kyoko.

"Don't. Waste. Food. In front of me."

Bulma's glare faded into a wide-eyed stare of shock and apprehension. With an angry jerk, Kyoko dumped the leftovers of Bulma's plate onto her own plate, and commenced eating. Dieters. Supermodels, doctors, fitness trainers – Kyoko seethed just listing all the stupid people in the world that didn't really appreciate the abundance of food they had access to, and just threw perfectly good stuff away for stupid reasons.

The silence hung around for a long time. Finally, Kyoko set the empty plate down. She felt satisfied. For now, anyway. She would have preferred to have an apple or two. It never felt right when she didn't have something to chew on.

"Kyoko?" Gohan ventured.

Kyoko glanced down at him, and wondered again how old he was. He looked up at her with dark, concerned eyes.

"Are...are you okay?"

Kyoko sighed. She reached out and ruffled his hair.

"Don't get yourself worked up over me," she said. "There are better things to think about than my emotional mess."

There was a brief pause, and then Krillin turned to Dende.

"So...Dende. What exactly has been happening here on Namek, then? How long has Frieza been here?"

Dende visibly shuddered.

"Well...I don't know everything...but the elders were whispering at the beginning of Tercer."

"What?" Kyoko said.

"Tercer is the third month of the cycle," Dende said. "And now we're in the middle of Quishin, the fifth month. So I think Frieza has been here a while."

"How do all of you know if something's wrong? It looks like you all live pretty spread out from each other," Krillin asked.

"We communicate through the Dragon Balls, of course," Dende said, looking surprised. "Every village has one, so there are seven villages in all. The oldest of the elders in each village uses their Dragon Ball to communicate with each other, and with our ancestors. The Dragon Balls were created by Guru a long time ago, from the collective consciousnesses of all of our ancestors. We join the Dragon Balls at the end of life."

"Wow," Krillin said, looking awed. "I had no idea. Our Dragon Balls on Earth work a whole lot differently..."

"Maybe that's why ours are so much smaller than theirs?" Gohan said.

"Wait, wait, _wait_," Kyoko cut in. "Collective consciousness? Dragon Balls? What the hell are these Dragon Balls anyway? I keep hearing you all talking about them."

"She doesn't know about the Dragon Balls?" Bulma demanded, looking at Krillin and Gohan.

Krillin shrugged. It was Gohan who finally answered her.

"The Dragon Balls were made by the Nameks," Gohan said. "When you collect all seven, the dragon appears, and he grants you one wish."

"Actually...our dragon grants three..." Dende said shyly.

"Whoa, really?" Krillin said, eyes widening.

Kyoko felt a cold pit grow inside her stomach.

"It grants...wishes?" she said.

"Yeah," Gohan said cheerfully. "Some our friends were killed back on Earth while fighting against Vegeta, an alien that attacked us. One of them was called Piccolo, and he was a Namek that was connected to the Kami that created the Dragon Balls on Earth, so ours don't work anymore. We came here to bring our friends back to life."

Kyoko was having a hard time keeping her thoughts under control. She licked her parched lips.

"So...what you're saying is...you can collect these things and they'll grant a wish? Any wish at all? No strings involved?"

"Well, you have to find them all first," Krillin said. "Bulma developed a handy gadget that tracks them. And you can only use them once a year, then they scatter themselves again."

_"I can grant any wish you want!" the little creature said. "In exchange though, I'll reconstitute your body so that you can fight the demons."_

"But nothing bad happens? You don't lose anything in return? You just...get your wish?"

Kyoko found that her hands were starting to sweat, and her heart wouldn't slow down. Her head spun, and she could barely breathe.

_"I wish that people would just _listen_ to my father!"_

"Well...yeah," Krillin said. "No real strings attached. Are you okay, Kyoko?"

_"Dad? Dad! Oh God, dad, what – what did you do? Dad, no, STOP! MOM! MOMO! I – ugh!–"_

_"You're a damned demon, Kyoko. I won't let your taint leave this family."_

_"I...no...ugh...dad...dad! Ugh...ugh...my...my chest...mom...Momo...no – this – this isn't – what I wanted..."_

"Kyoko? Kyoko?"

Krillin stared up at her. Even Bulma looked a little concerned. It took a long moment before Kyoko could regain control over her tongue.

"Must be nice," she finally said, her voice a low hiss. "To have a wish that won't come back to bite your frigging asses."

She didn't quite remember what happened after that, but she had a blurred memory of shoving her way through the door and running, running, running down the corridor and out into the sunlight, where she gasped for air, and then didn't stop running until she had to stop before she ran into a lake.

That was where she fell, and that was where she threw up.

And then that was where she cried.


	9. Inevitable

The wind hissed around the mesas, and for the fourth time in the past fifteen minutes, Homura glanced over her shoulder. Of course, she saw nothing at all. She couldn't sense anything, and Vegeta hadn't even turned around. Still...she couldn't shake the feeling that something was following them. Like there was a pair of eyes on her.

They had left the Dragon Ball behind inside a lake, only half a mile from the village. From what she could understand, Vegeta's plan was to hide just one Dragon Ball from Frieza, and then the other six would be useless – until Vegeta could steal the rest of them.

Homura ran her tongue over her parched lips. When was the last time she had had a drink of water? Her reconstituted body didn't need water for very long periods of time, but that didn't stop the ghost sensations that lingered from her life before.

She wondered how much longer Vegeta was going to go before he finally decided to force Homura to hold up her end of their bargain. She dreaded the moment. How could she even begin to explain to this cold, ruthless man what Madoka meant to her? And how would he react? Would he kill her because he thought her weak?

She would have to be on her guard – just like always, she thought dryly.

That was when Vegeta paused and, after glancing around, he caught Homura's eye and then started to descend. Homura stopped running and let Vegeta alight on the ground in front of her.

"All right," he said. "So. Who's Madoka? Because I have a feeling that if this alliance of ours lasts much longer, I'm going to want to know."

Homura drew in a breath.

"It is not a happy story," she said cautiously.

Vegeta shrugged, as if to say, 'happy? Why should I care if it's happy?'

After sucking in another breath, Homura turned herself slightly so she wouldn't have to look directly at Vegeta.

"All right. This was some months ago – or at least, I think it was. It's very hard to tell, after repeating so often."

Vegeta's eyebrows raised slightly, but he said nothing.

"You spoke of the Dragon Balls granting wishes, didn't you?" Homura said. "Well, my life has been dominated by a single wish that I had granted."

"You've used the Dragon Balls before?" Vegeta said, sounding almost angry. "You failed to mention that before."

Homura shook her head.

"No. Don't interrupt, or you'll never hear about Madoka. Moving on, I had been in the hospital for a long time. I finally came back to school, but I did not know anyone. That's when...I met Madoka."

Vegeta snorted. She could feel that he was starting to lose interest in the story.

"To make a long story short, I nearly died when I was attacked by a creature called a witch," Homura said. "Madoka arrived in time and saved my life. I found out that she was a Puella Magi, or a magical girl. A month later, she and another magical girl faced off against an extremely powerful witch. Both of them died, but the witch was defeated."

Vegeta snorted again.

"I can't imagine anything quite that powerful coming from Earth, so your little friend can't have been that powerful, and so not worth all of your sniveling," he said. "And this has nothing to do with wishes. Tell me, did you use the Dragon Balls or not?"

"I didn't know they existed until today. Or yesterday. It's difficult to tell on this planet," she said, gesturing at the suns with a hand. "But that is beside the point. Madoka was dead in front of me, and a creature called Kyubey offered to grant me one wish. He had done the same for Madoka, and all the other Puella Magi."

She glanced at Vegeta. His dark eyes now sparked with curiosity.

"Girls across the centuries had contracted with Kyubey. You get one wish, and in return, were granted magic and strength to fight the witches."

"And you wished for...?"

"I wished to redo my time with Madoka," Homura said simply.

The silence grew for a moment.

"You could have wished for anything, and you wished for that?" he said, sounding disgusted. "You're more sentimental and weak than I first thought."

Homura shrugged.

"Sentimental, yes. Weak, I'm afraid I wouldn't be here if I had been. I repeated that month hundreds of times. I saw Madoka die every time – or turn into one of the very monsters I had been fighting."

Vegeta had opened his mouth to retort, but it snapped shut at Homura's words.

"Yes. That's the terrible truth of the Puella Magi. Any wish we want granted in an instant. Powers beyond imagining given to us in exchange. And eventually, we mature into witches. Monsters."

Dark eyes searched purple ones, as though trying to understand the words by staring at her. Homura sighed, and closed her eyes.

"It ended after many, many cycles. Due to my meddling with time, I had given Madoka the potential to become the most powerful magical girl the universe had ever seen. And at the very end, she wished to erase all witches forever."

She glanced over at Vegeta, and was surprised to see that he was smirking.

"Changed the rules, didn't she?" he said. "I might learn to like this Madoka of yours. Well, where is she now?"

Homura took in a long, slow breath, and let it out just as slowly. The wind picked at her hair, like fingers running through it. She tried to think about how she could explain the paradox. How Madoka no longer...existed. She wasn't sure if it were possible to explain the idea of Madoka becoming a concept to this man, who obviously had no time for sentiment.

As it turned out, she didn't have to try.

"Well, well, well, so here you are, Vegeta," said a smooth, cultured voice above them. "I thought I would be running into you sooner or later."

Homura instinctively whipped her gaze around to find the source. Hovering above them was the alien with the pale blue skin – Zarbon, wasn't it?

He descended to the top of the mesa, facing the both of them.

"And...ah, if it isn't the little Earthling girl I met earlier," he said, yellow eyes glinting. "Don't think I've forgotten you, Homura Akemi."

"I would expect that's because of the hole I put through your leg," Homura said dryly, and Vegeta gave a snort of laughter.

Zarbon's smirk fell away, contorting into an angry frown.

"You don't seem quite nervous, Vegeta," he said. "Perhaps you think that you can match me?"

Vegeta grinned, arms folded.

"My apologies if you're offended by my indifference, Zarbon," he said. "But don't think for a moment that I'm at all afraid of you. I've grown much stronger in the past couple of weeks."

"So you claim," Zarbon said.

Vegeta seemed annoyed by this lack of surprise on Zarbon's part. Homura just twisted her ring, waiting for Zarbon to strike. Gauging by his stance and eyes, he was planning on springing towards Vegeta, and Homura could use that moment of distraction to put an arrow through his organs. On the other hand, if he was bluffing and decided to come towards her instead, she could just fall back over the side of the cliff that sat behind her, transform on the way down, and make use of her wings and time freeze in order to achieve the same goal as in her plan A.

"I've already killed Dodoria," Vegeta said – obviously they had continued to exchange taunts while Homura was calculating. Really, she groaned mentally. The fighters on this planet. None of them knew when to shut up and fight.

"Excuse me if I'm not duly impressed," Zarbon said. "But Dodoria was far weaker than I am."

"Hah! I can sense your power, Zarbon, and without a scouter. You're no more powerful than he was!"

Homura sighed, and stepped into her battle costume. Obviously, she would have to move to plan C: which was attack and get it over with before she died of frustration with the macho banter.

She decided to go straight to her bow instead of testing the waters with a handgun. By the time Zarbon and Vegeta realized what was going on, Homura had let the arrow fly. However, she miscalculated Zarbon's speed. The blue-skinned alien managed to jerk back fast enough so that the arrow flew by harmlessly – except for snipping a few strands of hair from his braid.

His yellow eyes flew to Homura, and in an instant, he was on her. Homura again misjudged Zarbon's potential speed, and she had no time to duck down over the canyon like she had planned. In a moment, her bow flew from her hands and she found herself pinned on the ground by the throat. Though she gasped for breath, the rational part of her brain told her that Zarbon could not kill her.

She yanked a gun from her shield, pressed it into Zarbon's stomach, and fired.

However, by the time she pulled the trigger, Zarbon was gone – Vegeta had launched himself forward to take advantage of Zarbon's distraction, and the two had rolled out of the way mere seconds before her bullet pierced the air. The sound boom of the bullet ricocheted off the canyon walls. It echoed dizzingly as Homura rolled back to her feet.

The two aliens had taken to the air, trading punches and kicks at a blurred speed. Homura retrieved her bow and took aim – but they were moving around too much, she couldn't get a clear shot! Then she decided that she really didn't care if she hit Vegeta, and let her arrow fly.

By luck or fate, Homura wasn't sure which, the arrow flew true, boring a hole on Zarbon's arm. The only sign that he had been injured was a slight bulging of the eyes, a sharp intake of breath – Homura couldn't help but admire his ability to hold the pain down.

Then Vegeta's fist connected with Zarbon's jaw, and the pale-skinned alien drew back with a jerk. He wobbled a bit in midair. A thin line of green blood trickled from his lip.

"So Zarbon," Vegeta said, grinning. "Think I'm still as weak as before?"

Zarbon licked at the blood on his broken lip with a deep purple tongue. Homura wrinkled up her nose – he was absolutely disgusting.

"You're passable," Zarbon said. "Though, I do feel that you probably wouldn't have been able to defeat Dodoria without that little pet of yours."

Homura felt like she should be bothered by Zarbon calling her Vegeta's pet, but she really couldn't bring herself to care. She was just so very sick of all of the testosterone on this planet.

So she loosed another arrow – and this time hit Zarbon right in the chest. The alien's eyes widened, and he stumbled back. His armor probably saved his life. The arrow had been blocked enough by it to vanish just after piercing it. Damn. She knew that she should have aimed for his head.

Zarbon's eyes flashed yellow with rage.

"I've just about had it with your little pet, Vegeta," he said.

Vegeta shrugged.

"I can't make her stop shooting you," he said, looking utterly amused. "Besides, seeing you being beaten by such a small Earthling girl is quite entertaining."

And before Homura had any idea what was happening, Zarbon lost it.

His skin bulged outwards with sudden muscles. Mottled spots appeared all over his skin – his face bulged and reshaped itself until it looked like the face of a frog.

Despite his increase in size, his speed had not suffered at all. Zarbon shot forward – Vegeta, taken aback by the transformation, only barely dodged Zarbon's swipe. He didn't dodge the next one. Zarbon moved so quickly that Homura couldn't follow. But suddenly, the ugly alien was above Vegeta, slamming his interlaced fingers onto Vegeta's head.

The Saiyan hurtled towards the ground, too fast to slow his own descent. He slammed the ground so hard that it left a crater. Homura found her mouth dropping open, and a strange feeling creeping into her belly, something that she couldn't remember feeling in who knows how long: terror. Total, unbridled, terror. For a split second, she stood frozen on that mesa like the girl that had knelt beside Mami's dead body, watching Madoka zoom off towards certain death –

So when Zarbon zoomed down on her, she was completely unprepared. In a split second, he had her pinned against the side of a cliff by her throat. She flailed, that feeling of total helplessness spreading through her until she could barely think.

"So, Homura Akemi," he said, his breath hot and disgusting on her face. "Still feeling smug, are we?"

And then Homura got a hold of herself. She retrieved a hand gun and, before she could think about it, pulled the trigger.

Luck was on her side. Though she should have known from her previous encounters, this space armor was fully capable of deflecting human bullets. However, at that moment, she managed to hit the one place that would hurt him – the hole left behind by her arrow.

Zarbon howled with rage. The moment his fingers loosened, Homura yanked on his pinky, causing him to jerk his hand away. Then she dropped down, down, down, the side of the cliff a blur beside her and the ground looking so very hard –

She came to her senses before she hit the ground, and called her wings to life. Just in time – she broke her fall just above the ground, touched down, and then tumbled to her knees.

She pulled herself up right away, though – self-preservation instincts will do that to a person.

Homura whipped around, an automatic machine gun resting comfortably in her arms as she searched above her for signs of Zarbon. Vegeta seemed to have recovered in time to go head to head with Zarbon again – not that it appeared to be helping.

Though far away, Homura could tell that Vegeta was losing, and badly. Zarbon didn't lay up for a second, driving punch after punch into Vegeta's chest and stomach. Vegeta wobbled back, face burning with rage. He thrust a palm forward, and the air burst with a blinding light. Homura dropped her machine gun to clap her hands over her eyes. By the time she had regained her sight, Zarbon was landing another punch directly in between Vegeta's eyes.

Homura's eyes went wide. In slow motion, Vegeta flew backwards – and landed with a splash into one of the wide green lakes, vanishing from sight.

Homura couldn't understand it – she had never really liked Vegeta. She had never been able to let down her guard around him. He had almost killed an entire village of innocent lives just to get what he wanted. But still, her heart leapt with a terrible pain and fear as the ripples he had created started to smooth out and the lake became glassy once more. For a moment, Homura was once again the shy, scared girl caught in a witch's barrier, feeling worthless and helpless as the monsters bore down on her with no hope of escape, all alone, always alone –

"Oh, don't look so shocked and scared. I'll send you to meet him if that's what you want," Zarbon called down to her.

The air crackled with energy, and Homura regained just enough composure to deflect the beams with her shield. That broken piece of hardware that was her heart, freshly cracked with the loss of her ally, exploded with a fire in her chest.

She sprang upwards, calling her wings. She was aware of the white, feathered edges warping into dark, chaotic shapes, but she ignored it. The clock started, and time froze.

She yanked a pair of grenades from her shield, pulled the pins, and hurled them at Zarbon's frozen form. Then she went for a gun as she landed on the mesa.

But as she tried to take aim, she found that her vision had gone blurry. There were two Zarbons instead of one – her head reeled, and the gun dropped from her hand. She wobbled on her feet for a moment. What on earth was wrong with her?

Then her battle costume flickered, and faded. Time restarted.

But by the time Zarbon turned around, shocked to see that she was behind him, she had already collapsed onto her stomach.

The last thing she saw was the unnatural, spotted darkness that swirled around inside her once-purple Soul Gem.

_Damn. I should have known._

Then the world faded around her.


	10. The Girl in the Dream

Everything turned. Over and over, and over. She could hear the soft tick…tick tick…tock, tick – tick – tock…tick – of a clock that played a discordant, irregular song.

Spinning. Still spinning. The same pattern repeated itself…

Homura opened her eyes to find only darkness. Her head throbbed painfully, and it took a long, excruciating moment to remember what had just happened. Then it all flooded back: fighting with Zarbon, Vegeta falling, and her own Soul Gem swirling to black –

She tried to sit up with a rush, afraid of what she might find. But a soft, glowing hand touched her shoulder and eased her back down. Despite the soft touch, Homura found that she could not fight past it.

"Who –"

"Sh, Homura-chan," said a blissfully familiar voice. "You're all right. I promise."

In her peripheral vision, Homura could see the blurred, glowing figure of what must be Madoka, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not turn her head to look at her.

"Madoka? Is...is it really –"

"Of course it is, silly," Madoka said, a quiet laugh coloring her voice. "Who did you think it was?"

"I...I can't see you..."

Madoka's laughter faded.

"I'm sorry, Homura-chan. But you can't see me just yet," she said. "That was really close. You have to be more careful. I don't think I can bend the rules for you again."

"What…what are you saying?"

"Your Soul Gem. It was too corrupted – I should have taken you with me right away. But I've only taken you…halfway."

Homura tried her hardest, but the words seemed to be swirling over her head, just out of reach of comprehension.

"I cleared most of the darkness. But I can't send you back again, after this. This is the last chance."

"Why," Homura managed to croak through a throat thick with tears. "Why do I have to go back?"

The tears spilled from her eyes before she could stop them. If only she could see Madoka's face again…! Madoka paused for a short, sad silence, filling with the distant, chaotic ticking.

"Well…you don't have to go back," she said. "That's why I brought you this far. You can come with me…or you can go back. And finish what you started."

"You mean, what you brought me to Namek for?"

"Yes."

Homura opened her mouth to answer, 'of course I'll go with you!' But then she hesitated.

_"You're the only one that can save us!"_

_"The shadow is going to move on…"_

Homura swallowed.

"If I…go with you," Homura said. "What will happen…to Namek? And the rest of the universe?"

Only the ticking answered her. After a breath, Homura felt Madoka's warm hand slipping into her own and squeezing – but still, she did not answer.

Homura blinked away her last tears and took a deep breath. She wanted so badly to leave life behind – to finally be with Madoka, and see her face-to-face again!

But Madoka needed her. And fighting for Madoka could never be a burden.

"I'll go back."

Almost instantly, the ticking stopped.

And Madoka was gone.

Kyoko wiped her mouth, still tasting bile. Damn. Why did she feel so terrible? Normally she could think about her family without flinching. She had done it before when she explained it to Sayaka. So what was the deal?

She stood shakily, feeling unnaturally dizzy. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt so sickly – definitely not since she had become a magical girl. Her zombie body had seen to that.

She licked at parched lips, but wasn't quite desperate enough to try drinking from the lake in front of her. Then she paused, and turned to stare at the glassy water that reflected the green sky above. Water…what was it…about water…?

Kyoko shook her head sharply to clear it. It was nothing. Nothing was wrong. This planet and its constant sunlight and creepy, glassy green water was just getting to her. She couldn't wait to get off of it. She turned away from the water, vaguely wondering what to do next, and trying to ignore her growling stomach.

But then a soft, faraway sound caught her attention. She hesitated, listening. It was…

String instruments. It was the faint, mournful sound of a group of string instruments, so soft that she almost could have imagined it. But where was it coming from?

Kyoko turned in a slow circle, but no matter which way she faced, she couldn't place the direction. It quickly got annoying, like a tiny gnat that she couldn't catch and silence. But the moment she turned her back to the water to search for the sound, her senses went crazy.

She whipped around, expecting a demon or an alien, ready beat the ever loving shit out of anything that decided to get near –

She nearly yelped with the shock. There was a face, staring at her from the water! Framed with a high collar, the blue locks and eyes almost completely concealed by the elaborate feathered helm that rested on her head –

"Sayaka?!"

And then the face was gone, without even a ripple to show that it had been there before.

Before Kyoko could even start to comprehend what she had just seen, a high-pitched whinny split the air, and she whirled to see something leap from a mesa, just out of sight – the only thing she caught was a glimpse of fire.

Kyoko didn't think – her battle costume swirled into life around her as she pushed herself forward. She sprang to the mesa, clambering up the side until she reached the top and could see for miles uninhibited.

A shadow streaked across the mesa, like a figure on horseback – illuminated only by the flare of fire around its form.

Kyoko tightened her hold on her spear and thrust forward from the mesa. She hit the ground running, feeling an unnatural dread growing in her stomach as she chased after the mysterious creature.

But then, maybe that was just hunger.

Homura awoke to a blinding headache, the side of her face pressed against a cold steel floor and her arms twisted awkwardly behind her. Someone was fiddling with whatever held her wrists together, and she caught a muffled swear.

She didn't think – she reacted. She flipped over, whipping her leg around to connect with a satisfying thwack. Before she could push herself to her feet, however, her opponent knocked her leg down.

"So you're awake. You're reactions are admirable, but you're making this more difficult that it has to be."

And then Vegeta – for it was Vegeta, Homura realized, and completely unharmed, too – rolled her back over. She heard the snap of metal and suddenly her hands were free. She wasted no time in pushing herself up to her feet and whirling to face Vegeta.

"What –"

"Time for that later. Let's go _now._"

The Saiyan was already at the door (which looked suspiciously ruined and smoking). Still dizzy, and unsure of her surroundings, Homura had no choice but to follow.

Lights flashed and a siren blared as they tore down a cold steel corridor that curved gently. As they came around a curve, they were suddenly confronted with a mass of armed alien shoulders. Homura's hand flashed to her ring – and terror erupted in her in chest. It was gone! Her Soul Gem was gone!

Vegeta dispatched the guards with a single blast of pale blue energy, and then he turned so suddenly that Homura skidded a few feet before managing to follow his lead.

They burst into a room just as wide and empty as the last one, only this one had the smoking remains of a dome-shaped window with a ragged hole. Vegeta made for the hole, but Homura slowed, her mind still on the missing Soul Gem. If she got too far away –

Vegeta glanced back before disappearing and scowled.

"Hurry up! Or I'll leave you behind to face Frieza!"

And with that, he grabbed her arm roughly and practically flung her through the hole. Her reflexes saved her, allowing her to land gracefully in a dead run.

All of Namek spread out in front of them, and she spared only a cursory glance behind her to the round alien spaceship they had just exited. Vegeta shot through the sky above her, and it took everything Homura had to keep up in a non-transformed state. At least her heart condition was no longer a problem, thanks to her reconstituted body. Otherwise she would have dropped dead and died right then and there.

Even so, her lungs burned by the time they finally came to a stop. It took her a long moment to regain her breath, and Vegeta descended beside her.

"You kept up. I'm impressed," he said.

Homura just shrugged, still not quite able to talk.

"What...happened?" she finally said.

"Well, Zarbon threw me off guard with his transformation technique," Vegeta said, sounding irritated. "But apparently..."

And then amusement colored his tones.

"Frieza couldn't find the one of the last Dragon Balls. The one we hid. So he made Zarbon come back for the both of us, I assume for interrogation."

"You're healed," Homura noted.

"Frieza had me put into a healing pod. He prefers his prisoners to be...whole before they're broken."

Homura was careful to keep the shudder from her face.

"And you took the time to come back for me?"

Vegeta shrugged.

"I..._convinced_ Appule, the alien guarding me, to tell me a few things before I disposed of him," he said, and Homura looked pointedly away. "He told me that you were here. I couldn't very well leave you – after all, with me gone, Frieza would certainly turn to you for the information on the Dragon Ball, and I quite frankly didn't trust you enough to keep quiet."

"Fair enough," Homura said. "I thank you all the same."

"Ah, and before I forget," Vegeta said, tossing something towards her. "That's yours, isn't it?"

She scooped it from the air. Drawing in a sharp breath, she found her Soul Gem lying in her palm.

"How...?"

"Frieza had it. According to Appule, who was quite the informant, Zarbon found it next to you. He brought it back for Frieza to examine, and the gem disappeared from inside. Frieza left the empty holder with the Dragon Balls, and I found it when I took those."

Homura nodded quietly and returned it to ring form. Well. Now she owed this man her life. She wasn't sure if she liked the idea.

"An interesting thing, actually," Vegeta said, an eerie amusement creeping into his tone. "When I found you, your heart wasn't beating. And then the gem reappeared inside its holder, and you woke up. How is that, I wonder...?"

Homura's heart jumped into her throat. She forced her face to remain blank. She would not let slip to this Saiyan warrior her only weakness.

"Who knows?" she said. "I don't know everything about being a Puella Magi."

Vegeta half-smirked, but did not push the matter, turning away from her. Homura shuddered slightly.

_Madoka_, she thought. _Why can't fighting for you be more straightforward?_

Kyoko finally collapsed onto her butt. Damn, that thing was fast! She had lost it within three minutes, after it split into three identical fiery shadows and darted in different directions. It took her a precious moment to decide which one to chase and by that time, they all had too much of a head start on her for her to catch up.

Her heart beat furiously in her chest, and her stomach grumbled, but (with difficulty) she ignored both. Because she had just looked up, and she did not like what she saw.

The ground dropped off to her left, and then sloped down gently to a tiny village like the last one, tucked in between mesas and cliffs, with a lake lapping gently at its far edge. It looked otherwise normal – as normal as you could get for this planet – except...

There were bodies littered everywhere.

Kyoko felt bile rise up in her throat, but managed to control herself. Cautiously, she let herself down the slope, sliding down to the village. The dome-shaped buildings showed no signs of a struggle, and once Kyoko had steeled herself enough to examine the bodies, she found that they had no wounds, either. When Freezer and his guys had killed those other villagers, they had left burn marks and holes behind. These villagers looked like they had all dropped dead suddenly.

And by the looks of shock and terror frozen on their faces, whatever had killed them couldn't have been pretty.

Kyoko swallowed, feeling extremely unnerved. Living beings like this didn't just drop dead out of nowhere. Something had to have happened, and she somehow doubted it was because of Freezer –

A rock skittered across the ground. Kyoko whirled, spear gripped tightly and pointing at –

She paused as a tiny alien child yelped and curled inwards on itself, shivering. She lowered her spear.

"Hey, sorry," she said. "You startled me."

The alien cracked open one eye, and Kyoko was startled to see a clouded, golden eye looking through her.

"Are...who are you?" the kid asked, still shaking.

"My name's Kyoko. Yours?"

"N-Neyru."

"Okay, then Neyru. What exactly happened here?"

Neyru swallowed and stood shakily.

"I...just after Hope's messenger left with the warrior, the shadow came."

"The what?" Kyoko said.

A slow shudder crept through the child.

"The...the shadow," Neyru said again. "It...looks a little like you, I guess. Your kind, I mean. Fair skinned...with long, long hair the shade of Carina Lilies...and eyes – eyes the color of the sun."

_Okay...no idea what a Carina Lily is..._ Kyoko thought.

"So some chick came along," Kyoko said. "What did she do?"

Neyru looked up at her, terror marring his clouded eyes.

"The shadows just...swallowed everyone..." the child said, voice shaking. "Dini made me run. And when I came back...everyone was dead."

Neyru trembled so badly that Kyoko wondered if the child would literally fall apart. She felt very awkward, unsure of how to console the little alien. Everyone Neyru knew had just been murdered, and now...the kid was all alone. Like Kyoko.

Awkwardly, she patted Neyru on the head.

"Life sucks, doesn't it?" she said.

Neyru just hiccuped with tears. Kyoko sighed, and then turned her thoughts to something else.

_A shadow of my kind, huh...?_


	11. Black Shadow

Kyoko pushed the last mound of dirt over the last Namek corpse, then leaned back on her heels and sighed deep in her throat. All she wanted to do was get out of this freaky, empty ghost village, but Neyru had started trying to dig graves. Kyoko didn't feel right leaving the kid behind, and she could dig much faster with her spear.

Still, handling all the bodies made her stomach roll, and she was glad that it was over with.

Now, she thought, it was time to leave. Before that shadow person Neyru was so afraid of decided to come back and see if they had really finished off the village.

She heard Neyru hiccup again. The kid hadn't stopped crying since they had begun their morbid task. She couldn't really blame him, but it was starting to get annoying. Had she been this weepy after her family had died? ...yeah. Yeah, she had. More so, even. Well, she could cut the kid some slack.

"Okay," she said, using her spear to push herself back to her feet. "We should...probably get out of here."

Neyru nodded silently, wiping the last tears away.

Then Kyoko heard the soft whoosh of something cutting through the air, and she whipped around to find –

"Gohan?" she said.

"Kyoko?" Gohan said.

Neyru stiffened and sidled away behind Kyoko. Kyoko lowered her spear, nudging Neyru.

"Hey, calm down. It's okay."

"What are you doing here?" Gohan asked.

"Chasing shadows," Kyoko said.

The boy looked around at the newly dug graves, brow furrowed with concern.

"What...what happened?"

Kyoko shrugged, gesturing at Neyru.

"Neyru says that some shadowy girl came and killed everyone," she said. "All I know is that I got here and everyone was dead. What are you doing here?"

Gohan blinked out of a reverie, looking a little teary.

"Oh. I was looking for a Dragon Ball," he said. "Bulma's radar picked one up coming from over here. Then I saw you and..."

He trailed off. For the five billionth time, Kyoko wondered how old this kid was. He looked small enough to be seven or younger, but acted so much older for his age. He must have been to hell and back.

"Okay, right. The Dragon Ball," Kyoko said.

"You're looking for it too?" Neyru squeaked. "Are – are you with –"

"He's not with the shadow freak, or the Freezer guy," Kyoko said with a sigh. "I can promise you that."

"Who's this?" Gohan asked.

"This is Neyru. Neyru, this is Gohan. Don't be shy, come on, kid. He's not gonna bite you or anything."

And with that, Kyoko stepped aside so that Neyru couldn't hide behind her anymore. Neyru squeaked again, but Gohan smiled gently.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you," he said. "We're just looking for the Dragon Balls so we can bring our friends back to life."

Gohan glanced sidelong at Kyoko, a question in his dark eyes. Kyoko shrugged.

"Whatever happened before, forget about it," she said. "It's not worth your time. I'm over it."

Gohan didn't look convinced, but he didn't push it. Neyru swallowed.

"Well...I guess...you seem all right," the alien said. "You don't feel like the shadow."

"Okay, okay, everyone's okay with each other and all," Kyoko said, getting irritated at the slowness of it all. "All right, Gohan, use your gadget and find that Dragon Ball, and let's get the hell out of here."

Gohan nodded, glanced down at the giant watch-like thing in his hand, and then started to trot off in another direction. Kyoko moved to follow him, and found that Neyru clung to her leg. She glanced down at the small, terrified alien, and she sighed.

"Okay, come on," she said. And with that, she swung the kid up onto her back, golden eyes widening as she did so.

"Hang on, or I'll leave ya behind, okay?"

Neyru's only response was to tighten his arms around her neck.

Homura's ring warmed at her finger as she set down the last of the Dragon Balls. She and Vegeta had just been collecting the five Balls Vegeta had stolen from Frieza, hiding them away in a crevice between mesas.

She looked into the sky, curious. She had never sensed this power before: it was very unlike that of a Namek, which always seemed a bit earthy, and far different from Frieza or any of his men, with was tainted with malice. This power, in fact, was rather similar to that of a Puella Magi. Warm and pulsing, bright with life and inner strength.

Vegeta appeared to have noticed it too, his dark eyes scanning the sky.

"Are you sensing that?" he asked, glancing back at her. "It's moving fast."

Homura merely nodded. Vegeta cocked his head slightly, as though listening, but Homura knew better – he was feeling out the energy, trying to pinpoint it.

"There!" he said, and he took off without a pause.

Homura sighed, grumbling mentally about her choice of ally, and darted off after him.

It wasn't until she started running until she realized just how much stronger she had become. Her lungs filled easily, her heart beat regularly, and muscles flexed tirelessly with ease. She couldn't remember a time she had felt so intensely strong. Had Madoka's purification of her Soul Gem been this powerful? She felt like she had just purified herself for the first time in weeks! Grief Cubes never really had gotten rid of the darkness entirely. She just hadn't noticed how much darkness had been accumulating until now.

This time, she swore to herself. This time she would be more careful. She would preserve her magic and be ready to face – well, whatever she was supposed to face. If only Madoka had been able to tell her more.

Vegeta stopped abruptly just then, causing Homura's thoughts and her pace to slow to a stop.

"Well, well, well," Vegeta said, a slow, cruel grin crossing his face. "If it isn't the remains of Earth's greatest fighters."

He laughed harshly, and Homura took advantage of his inevitable macho banter to take in the scene. She instantly determined that this was going to be trouble – not from the two figures before them, but from Vegeta.

They stood mere feet away from a cave, carved from the sheer face of a cliff face. At the cave's entrance a woman huddled against the wall, looking absolutely terrified. Her figure and facial features suggested that she was an adult, though her short blue hair was cut in a girlish style. The other of the two stood between Vegeta and the woman: he was shorter than Homura, but quite obviously an adult, his eyes dark-colored and his head shaved. He wore a bright orange gi with a kanji inscribed on the front, which Homura thought looked like the character for turtle. It had been a while since she had read much kanji.

Most importantly, however, he held one of the giant Dragon Balls in his arms.

"You know, when Dodoria mentioned a group of Earthlings, I had my suspicions that it would be one of you," Vegeta said. "So, Krillin, wasn't it? Where's the rest of your happy little group? Oh, that's right. I killed most of them, didn't I?"

He laughed again, and the man named Krillin's face contorted with a mix of nerves and rage. Still, however, Krillin said nothing.

"So," Vegeta said, stepping closer. "Where's Kakarrot, if I might ask? I doubt that you'd come without him. So where is he hiding his low-born face?"

"Goku's not here!" the woman squeaked, then clapped her hands over her mouth. Krillin sent a glare back at the woman, and then returned to glaring at Vegeta.

"Well, you heard her," he grumbled. "Goku didn't come with us. He's still recovering."

"Likely story," Vegeta said. "But I'll believe you for now. Now, why don't you hand over that Dragon Ball?"

Krillin's grip tightened around it, and Vegeta's grin widened.

"Oh, come on, now. You don't think that you're going to fight me for it, do you? You couldn't even handle Nappa, and trust me when I say that I've always been stronger than him...and I've gotten even stronger."

Homura's fist clenched at her side.

"Vegeta. Stop it," she said.

Vegeta glanced back, unperturbed. Krillin and the woman looked at her with surprise. Obviously, they hadn't noticed her before.

"What was that, Homura...?" Vegeta said.

"I said stop it," Homura said. "This is stupid. You already know that you're stronger than both of them. Why bother threatening them? You can take the Dragon Ball without causing unnecessary damage, and leave."

Vegeta's lips twitched, and he slowly turned to face Homura.

"Are we going to do this again, Homura?" he said quietly. "I warned you back at the Namek village that confronting me would be a bad idea."

Homura shrugged.

"And I warned you that I would not stand for unnecessary death. So. It looks like we have no choice but to trample each other's warnings."

Vegeta smirked darkly, and Homura could tell that he was enjoying this immensely. Too immensely.

"Maybe you think that because I saved you back at Frieza's ship that I need you," he said. "That's a terrible assumption."

"I'm under no illusions. I know you only rescued me because you didn't want Frieza to find about the hidden Dragon Ball from me," Homura said.

She allowed her battle costume to swirl around her.

"So. Is it to end in blows, then?" she said tersely. "Make up your mind quickly. You know how I hate pointless banter."

There was a gun in her hand before she had even finished the sentence. And only a beat after she finished the sentence, an unwelcome figure dropped from the sky.

"I finally found you," Zarbon said. His pale blue skin glistened with cold sweat, and strands of green hair were loose from his braid – he looked as though he had been moving very quickly for a long time.

"Well, well, well, Zarbon," Vegeta said. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Don't act so cocky, Vegeta!" Zarbon snapped. "I've already destroyed you once, it will be simple enough to do it again! And then, I _will_ drag you and your little pet Earthling to Frieza, and I _will _enjoy watching him squeeze every last drop of information from your sorry monkey corpse."

Homura's fingers tightened around her gun, and she slowly started to back towards Krillin and the woman. If a fight broke out, she might have enough time to get them out of harm's way...and the Dragon Ball with them. She could still feel the ghostly sensations of a thousand years' worth of memories stored away inside the last orb. She had given one to Vegeta, it was true, but...

She didn't want him _or_ Frieza to get their hands on those sacred remnants of a race's souls. She didn't know what Madoka had brought her here to defeat, but she doubted that Madoka would have stood for such blatant disrespect. The confusion of the battle would be more than enough to get the Dragon Ball hidden away.

However, she had no such luck.

Zarbon transformed right away, his once semi-attractive features bulging into amphibian-like proportions. Homura tensed up – Vegeta had fallen quickly the first time he had faced Zarbon's second form –

But Vegeta didn't even flinch. He ducked under Zarbon's first swipe with ease, and – without a pause – drove his fist up and _through_ Zarbon's chest. Zarbon froze, his eyes bulging. Gooey purple blood trickled from the space in which Vegeta's fist still remained. The pale blue alien coughed, and a mess of purple blood splattered across the ground.

"Good try," Vegeta said.

And then his hand exploded with brilliant blue light. Zarbon's cry ripped through Homura's ears, and for a moment, she could hear the death scream of Madoka, just out of sight beyond where Walpurgisnacht was going up in flames –

Zarbon's limp form shot through the air, landing with a mighty splash in the Namekian sea.

Vegeta stood still for a moment. Then he reached down and tugged off his white glove, now stained with Zarbon's blood. He dropped it onto the ground, then turned slowly to face the other three. He smirked.

"You look surprised, Homura," he said. "Well, let me tell you a little secret of the Saiyan race: every time we recover from near death, we come back stronger. It's a survival technique, I suppose."

Homura's fingers trembled. It had been so – so abrupt. So bloody. It shouldn't affect her so much. She had seen girls die in that abrupt way so many times – even Madoka. She hadn't even liked Zarbon. So why...

She swallowed. It was Vegeta himself – she was afraid of him. Afraid of his cruelty, his easy smile even though he had just brutally murdered a living being without even flinching. No witch, no demon could ever match that malice. Demons didn't think – they just were. And witches...witches didn't know any better. They were just broken souls of girls with lost wishes.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sadistic bloodshed of this world. Nothing.

"So, I'll be having that Dragon Ball, now," he said, glancing at Krillin. "Unless any of you would like to try my strength for yourself...?"

Homura tightened her grip on her gun, still shaking – but now with anger. This man could never, _ever_ understand true pain, true loss – and she would not watch him do any more damage.

Krillin clenched his jaw, and slowly, slowly held out the Dragon Ball.

"Fine," he said. "Take it. Go ahead. Go make your wish."

Vegeta smirked. Homura raised her gun.

Then Krillin caught her eye, and the spark in it made her stop.

_Calm down_, he mouthed. _Just...don't do anything stupid._

Homura bristled, but she slowly lowered her gun as Vegeta took the Ball. The euphoric grin on his face just increased Homura's anger.

"At least you're smarter than you are strong," Vegeta said with a laugh. "You made a wise decision. And, since I'm in such a good mood, I think I might just let you live."

He tucked the Dragon Ball under his arm. His dark eyes found Homura's and his smile faded. Whatever he found in her eyes, he didn't seem to like it.

"Well, Homura?" he said. "Does our alliance continue?"

"It does not," Homura said.

Vegeta's face darkened for a moment, but it faded quickly.

"Fine," he said. "I don't really need you anymore, anyway. Now that I have all seven Dragon Balls, and Dodoria and Zarbon are dead, I'll be immortal within the next couple of hours. And then nothing will stop me."

His laugh echoed against the cliff wall as he burst into the sky and zoomed away. Homura still shook with rage, but she had learned long ago how to conceal and control her emotions. Within a few moments, she had retreated entirely behind her mask.

"So..." Krillin said, glancing sidelong at Homura. "Who are you, anyway?"

Vegeta was in an excellent mood. All seven Dragon Balls were within his possession, Zarbon and Dodoria were dead, and Kakarrot wasn't even on the planet. He was no longer encumbered with his former ally, though she had been quite useful for a time. And in just a few short moments, he would have collected all seven Dragon Balls in one place, and he would be immortal. And then not even Frieza would be able to stand against him! _He_ would be the ruler of the universe, and Kakarrot would never, ever be able to tarnish his pride again!

A tickle in the back of his mind alerted him to the small power level he was approaching. He paused in midair, glancing around. For a moment, all he heard was the hiss of wind past his ears – then he caught a snippet of a hushed voice, somewhere below him.

"All right, who's out there?" he shouted. "Show yourself, I know you're there!"

No answer, and no movement. Vegeta smiled to himself, feeling a little excited in spite of himself.

"Fine," he shouted. "If there's really no one there, then I suppose no one will mind if I turn this whole place into a burning wasteland!"

"Like hell! Come down here and try, ya bastard!"

The sharp, slightly accented voice was unfamiliar to him, and much too feisty to be any of Frieza's soldiers.

Vegeta glanced down to see a figure standing on an island far below him. Another pair of figures appeared to be grabbing at the first, as though trying to make her hide. He descended, and was surprised to find that he was being stared down by a girl about the same ago as Homura.

She was actually a bit taller than he was, with deep red hair pulled back into a ponytail with a black ribbon. She wore a dress similar in shade to her hair, the skirt split at the front to reveal a more intricate short skirt beneath. In her hands a long, deadly sharp spear gleamed, and her fiery red eyes glinted with fury and strength.

Behind her, a small Namekian child cowered, eyes squeezed shut with terror. At her other side, a more familiar face glared up at him in a mixture of anger and fear.

"Well, if it isn't Kakarrot's little runt," he said, grinning down at Gohan. "I don't recognize your party members. Care to introduce me?"

The red head half snarled and swiped at Vegeta with her spear. Vegeta grabbed the shaft and yanked the weapon from her hands.

"You know, you remind me of someone," he said, twirling the spear before tossing it into the ocean. "Tell me, you wouldn't happen to be a Puella Magi, would you?"

The girl blinked with surprise, and Vegeta knew he had hit the mark. So there were other beings like Homura, were there? He wondered if all of them had time control abilities. Somehow, looking at this girl, he doubted it.

"I'm in a good mood today, so I might just let you three live," he said with a grin.

"Maybe if you're lucky, I'll let _you_ live!" the red head said, recovering quickly from her surprise. Vegeta only paused for a moment when he noticed that she had yet another spear in her hands. He snorted.

"Don't even try it, Earthling," he said. "That would be the last mistake you made. Well, then, what's that you're holding, runt?"

Gohan looked confused for a moment. Then he glanced down at the big gadget in his hands and moved it slightly behind him.

"It's, um –"

"It's a watch," the girl snapped. "Can't you tell? Idiot."

On a normal day, she would have irritated Vegeta. Today, however, Vegeta just found her immensely amusing.

"Interesting watch," he said. "Well, since I'm in such a good mood, I think I'll leave you kids alone for the day."

And then, on a whim, he decided to knee Gohan in the stomach.

"Gohan!" the girl said. "You _bastard_ –"

But Vegeta was already flying away, laughing as he left. That blow wouldn't kill the boy, but it would leave him breathless for a little while. He wondered if the girl would follow him. It might be amusing to put her in her place. But he did not sense her approach, and contented himself with thinking about destroying Frieza once he had made his wish.

A small snap in the back of his head alerted him to a power level coming towards him – there, to his right –

The air above him exploded, and he just barely swooped out of harm's way. Then there was a piercing pain in his shoulder, and another one in his knee. He dove towards the water far below, ducking around and under mesas – maybe he could lose his attacker that way –

The mesa in front of him exploded, and it took him precious seconds to dodge the debris. Then another pain shot through his other shoulder, and he almost dropped the Dragon Ball.

"What the _hell _–"

Another flurry of explosions went off right in front of his face, and it took all of his strength and speed to avoid serious injury. He landed heavily on top of a mesa and reached out with his mind, trying to find his attacker's _ki._

It was then that he sensed a set of grenades that just appeared in front of him. Thanks to his new senses, he was able to avoid the strike, and then the flurry of bullets. They were just appearing in the middle of nowhere –

Wait. Homura used grenades and guns. Her weapons and strikes always appeared out of nowhere because she was using them in a split second, while she froze time. No, she wouldn't have been so stupid as to follow him, would she?

He dropped down to another mesa, and this time tried to find the main source of the _ki_. He remembered that during the battle with Zarbon, when Homura had been pinned down, she had tried to shoot him instead of freezing time. Therefore, that would mean that if he could grab her, she wouldn't be able to keep freezing time and attacking him from afar.

There!

He sprang back, turning in midair, and grabbed onto a solid arm. He whipped the form around and slammed her against a rock. Once he was sure his grip was secure, he dropped the Dragon Ball onto the ground beside him so he would have use of both his hands.

But when he glanced at his captive, he wasn't sure it was Homura at all.

The girl stared at him with tears in her purple eyes, nearly hidden by the glare across her red glasses that were askew across her nose. Her raven black hair was done up in a pair of braids, but quite a few strands had gotten loose, giving her the impression of being a sobbing mess. Not only that, but her outfit was much different: she wore a purple dress so large that it was difficult to make out her shape underneath it. An infinity symbol gleamed on her breast, and the brim of her tall purple hat fell over her bangs; a pair of glittering black butterfly wings shimmered behind her. Still...the eyes and the hair were the exact same shade, and her face was exactly the same – besides the fact that it was contorted with and stained by tears, an expression Vegeta had never seen on Homura before.

"Well, Homura," he said angrily. "You neglected to tell me that you had a second transformation. Thought you would hide things from me, did you? Bad move – my good mood is not going to save you now."

"Turning," the girl said through a voice choked with tears, and he paused with surprise. "Turning, turning, turning...why couldn't I…?"

"What?"

Then she had pulled a gun from the folds of her dress and pressed the barrel to Vegeta's forehead. He jerked away, dodging the bullet – but letting go of Homura in the process.

In an instant, she had disappeared. Vegeta swore and grabbed the Dragon Ball, ready to dodge the next set of explosions –

But they never came. There was only the sound of wind through the mesas, and the soft splash of a fish jumping in the water far below.

Vegeta started to feel uneasy, and he didn't like the sensation. Cautiously, he flew up into the air.

Then it occurred to him that Homura also knew where the last Dragon Ball was. She could have very easily just done all of that to distract him while she used her time freeze to get there in a matter of seconds and take the Ball –

He swore loudly and zoomed away.

So he didn't notice when the girl with the wide-brimmed hat reappeared on the mesa, watching him go.

"Turning," she whispered, as a tear rolled down her cheek.

And then she vanished.


	12. In the Afternoon

Kyoko landed gently, so as not to disturb her alien passenger. Neyru's arms did not loosen as Gohan ran over to Krillin with the Dragon Ball.

"All right, down you go," Kyoko said, kneeling so that Neyru could slide off of her back. "You feeling any better?"

Neyru's head shook silently.

"Yeah. Me neither," she said, grimacing. "It never really fades. The pain, I mean."

Neyru nodded, still silent. Then the child looked up, and the golden eyes went wide.

"It's you!" Neyru said, looking suddenly bright and cheerful.

Kyoko looked up – and saw Homura.

Homura's purple eyes were wide with shock.

"Sakura Kyoko-san?" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't know I was here?" Kyoko said.

Neyru ran over to Homura, hugging her legs. Then the chaos began, as everyone began to talk at once.

"Neyru?" Homura said.

"You know him?" Kyoko said.

"Kyoko, you know her?" Krillin said. "And who's that Namekian kid?"

"Who are all of these people, Gohan?" Bulma said.

Homura held up a hand, and the whole commotion instantly ceased. Kyoko rolled her eyes. Show off.

"We will have time for catch-up later," she said briskly. "However, if I am correct, Gohan-san, you found that Dragon Ball at the bottom of a lake."

"Well, yeah –"

"Which means that is the one that Vegeta and I hid before. So he will surely be headed here in a few moments once he realizes that the Ball is gone. I suggest that we move, and move quickly."

"Who's Vegeta?" Kyoko asked.

"That's the guy that attacked me," Gohan said.

"What, that guy? I could take 'im. You'd help, right, Akemi? We don't have to worry about –"

The look in Homura's eyes made her stop. Those purple eyes were tinged with barely concealed unease. Kyoko cleared her throat nervously. If that guy had even Homura spooked...well. Kyoko had _never_ seen Homura spooked before.

"All right, yeah. Move out, that's a good plan. Where are we headed?"

"Think this is far enough?" Kyoko said.

They had gone almost three miles, by Homura's reckoning, and found a secure location between two mesas. The crevice was wide enough for Bulma to set up a makeshift camp, to which end she had already busied herself.

Homura nodded silently. Kyoko met gazes with the Homura for a moment, and then hastily went over to check on Neyru and Dende, who were speaking rapidly to one another in Namekian.

Homura sucked in a deep breath. What was Kyoko doing here? How had she gotten here? Would they be able to discuss such things in private, with the suspicious Bulma constantly watching them, or the curious Krillin and Gohan asking questions? How much could she tell them?

Could she trust any of them?

Homura's eyes wandered back over to Kyoko. The red head appeared to be talking with Neyru and Dende, though Homura couldn't make out the words. There was only one person she could be sure of, and that was Kyoko.

Throughout every timeline Homura had gone through, Kyoko had been the only Puella Magi besides Madoka that she could rely on, and Madoka had quickly become off limits as an ally. The red head was explosive, it was true, but she was not subtle. She spoke her mind and did not try to be anyone else; very little about her was fake. She worked very well in a team. Unlike Mami, she had not succumbed to madness or lost faith. Unlike Sayaka, she had not despaired.

She was also the only one left. Of all the girls that Homura had associated with during her meddling with time, only Kyoko remained in this newly made universe. Sayaka had passed on almost a year ago. Mami's Soul Gem had shattered in battle. And Madoka...Madoka was not here.

So even though Homura knew she shouldn't, even though she knew her confidence should not rest on her allies, she felt safer. Her confidence was renewed. If Kyoko was here, then that meant Madoka was sending her help. And unlike Vegeta, Homura could trust Kyoko. They worked well as a team; Homura already knew that from experience.

She paused for only a second longer before striding over to Kyoko. The red head glanced up, but kept talking to the Namekians.

"So, anyway, you kids make sure you stay low if anybody comes around, you hear?" she said. "You need something, Akemi?"

"We need to talk."

"Heh. You read my mind."

She punched Neyru lightly on the shoulder in a good-natured way, and then followed Homura to a safe distance.

"So," Homura said. "How did you get here?"

"Could ask you the same thing," Kyoko said. "But, you did ask first. I met some girl. Couldn't really see her, but she said you needed help. Asked if I would come with her."

Homura's heart fluttered. Madoka? Madoka had appeared to Kyoko as well? Things must be worse than she thought.

"And you did?" Homura said, incredulous.

Kyoko shrugged.

"To be honest, I'm surprised myself. She just seemed trustworthy, you know? I could feel it in my gut."

Homura nodded slowly. She ran her tongue across her dry lips before speaking again.

"Sakura-san...do you know why Ma – the girl brought us here?"

Kyoko just looked at Homura, one eyebrow raised, as if to say 'yeah, of course. Not.'

"Have you seen a single demon here, Sakura-san?"

"No. You?"

Homura shook her head.

"What about Kyubey? Have you seen him, sensed him, been able to contact him?"

Kyoko shook her head again.

"And neither have I," Homura said thoughtfully. "So...if not to clear out the demons...then why...?"

She glanced sidelong at Neyru, who was now talking shyly with Gohan. When she looked back, Kyoko's red eyes met hers squarely.

"I talked to Neyru about you, you know," Kyoko said. "Said you're some kind of chosen one by somebody called Hope. What do you know about that...?"

Homura shrugged.

"Not much. What I do know is that there is supposedly some...'shadow' here. Something that is killing this planet. And Hope...whom I assume is the girl that brought us here...wants our help."

"Sounds like she needs more your help than mine," Kyoko said sourly. "But when it comes to the shadow, I think I can give you a little bit more information."

"Can you?" Homura said, surprised.

Kyoko jerked a thumb at Neyru.

"Neyru said something came and killed all the villagers," Kyoko said. "And, no, it wasn't Vegeta. By the way, you're gonna have to explain to me why you and and that jerk ended up working together."

Homura waved a hand to tell Kyoko to save it for later.

"It was a shadow, Neyru said," Kyoko said. "It swallowed up the villagers...and something about a girl with hair the color of some kind of flower. I didn't know what it was, so don't ask me. Anyway, sometime before that, I ran into some crazy stuff."

"Crazy like what?" Homura said.

Kyoko's brow wrinkled, and she looked very confused.

"I saw a face in the water," she said. "A girl...with a helmet...and hair like Sayaka's."

Homura's heart jumped into her throat. A helmeted girl like Sayaka? What on earth could that possibly mean? And the shadow that Homura was supposed to fight...was a girl? Was it a powerful Puella Magi? Was the helmeted girl also a Puella Magi?

"And another one, with a horse or something," Kyoko said. "It got away from me cause it split into three and went in different directions, so I didn't get a good glimpse of it."

Kyoko's eyes were dark.

"Akemi...what the hell is going on here?"

Homura opened her mouth to answer, though she wasn't sure what she would say. And then Gohan appeared, dark eyes looking sheepish.

"Um...Kyoko-san, Homura-san...Bulma is throwing a fit...could you come over here? She doesn't trust you at all."

Homura and Kyoko exchanged glances.

"How much we gonna tell?" Kyoko said.

Homura shrugged.


	13. Disorder

"...so that, I assume, is why Kyoko reacted the way she did to the idea of the Dragon Balls," Homura said. "After all, the wish of a Puella Magi often backfires."

Krillin glanced over at the irritable looking Kyoko, looking stunned.

"Oh...wow. I'm sorry. I had no idea."

Kyoko just shrugged and took an angry bite out of the apple that she had stolen from Bulma.

"So Puella Magi are humans that made contracts with this...Incubator thing?" Bulma said, looking utterly fascinated. "Wow. I'm surprised we haven't heard of this before."

Homura really hadn't told them much, but it was apparently enough to sate Bulma's distrust. Kyoko had offered just the bare bones about her family's forced suicide, and Homura had only talked about the contract. There was no point in going any further.

"But what about you, Akemi-san?" Bulma asked. "What did you wish for?"

Homura just looked at her, long and level, until she flushed and looked away.

"And what about you?" Homura asked, glancing over at Krillin and Gohan. "What brought you here? How did you get here?"

"Bulma found an old Namekian ship on Earth," Krillin said. "We came here on that."

"We're looking for the Dragon Balls," Gohan said. "So we can wish our friends back to life. They died when we fought against Vegeta on Earth."

Homura felt all eyes on her when Vegeta was mentioned, but she merely waved it away.

"My alliance with Vegeta was what became necessary at the time. It no longer holds, so you don't have to worry yourselves. Please, continue."

Gohan nodded sheepishly.

"Well, anyway, my teacher Piccolo was a Namekian, and he was connected to the Namekian Kami that created the Dragon Balls on our planet," Gohan said. "So when Piccolo died, so did Kami, and our Dragon Balls don't work if their creator is dead."

"Our Dragon Balls are the same way," Dende said shyly. "They are connected to Guru's life force."

Krillin nodded in acknowledgment of this and picked up where Gohan left off.

"So when we heard that there were Dragon Balls here, we came here to find them," he said. "But we weren't expecting to run into Vegeta...or anyone more powerful than him..."

"You mean, Frieza, correct?" Homura said.

Krillin looked up at her, surprised. Homura grimaced slightly.

"I had...an unfortunate encounter with him. The conversation did not end well," she said dryly.

Kyoko snorted.

"Damn this," Krillin said, and Gohan looked sheepishly away as if pretending not to hear the word. "Even with all of us four, I don't think we'll even stand a chance against Frieza! We'll never get the Dragon Balls the way we are now!"

"Hey, speak for yourself, shortie," Kyoko said. "I bet Akemi and I could handle these jerks. No problem. Ain't like we can die easily, right, Akemi?"

Homura sent her a warning look. She wasn't quite ready to tell these people, no matter how trustworthy they might be, about the constitution of the Puella Magi. The fewer people that knew their single weakness, the better.

"If only Goku were here," Krillin muttered. Homura had heard that name once before, when Vegeta mentioned someone called Kakarrot. She decided leave the question of who that was for later.

"We have to work with what we have," she said, nodding at the Dragon Ball in front of them. "The Dragon Balls don't work unless you have all seven, am I correct?"

"That's right," Bulma said.

"Then we have some weight in all of this," Homura said. "For now, we can work on strengthening what defenses we have. Krillin-san, are there any other Namekians around? It might be beneficial to have more numbers."

Krillin had started shaking his head when a spark flared in his eyes.

"Guru! I almost forgot!" he said, jumping to his feet.

"What are you blabberin' about?" Kyoko said. She looked more irritable than usual. It was probably because she had just finished her apple.

"The Namekian Elder!" Krillin said. "He can unlock someone's hidden potential – Gohan has tons of potential, maybe if we unlocked it, he could stand up even to Vegeta!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Kyoko said. "So what yer saying is that we're trusting our fate to the _possible _potential of an eight-year-old?"

"I'm five," Gohan said.

"You're _what?!_"

Homura stood up, and Kyoko glanced over, calming down for a second. For a moment, Homura actually wished that Kyubey was around. It would have been so much simpler if they could speak telepathically.

"Kyoko," Homura said softly, so that the others couldn't hear. "Listen. We need all the help we can get."

"He's five years old, Akemi! Five! I'm not fightin' with a five year old, no way."

Despite Kyoko's tough words, Homura could see the barest hint of concern deep in the red-head's eyes. Perhaps she was seeing her younger sister in Gohan. Perhaps she was worried about him getting hurt, and then feeling guilty about it.

"Listen. If this Guru can unlock a person's hidden potential, that might given Gohan much more power than we realize," she said. "I don't know exactly what Gohan is, but if my senses are any good, he's strong. He might not even be human. Think about it, Kyoko. You've seen Frieza, haven't you?"

Kyoko's face turned just the slightest shade paler.

"Yeah," she said. "You might have a point, there."

"Besides," Homura said, glancing over her shoulder. "Considering the look on Gohan's face, I'm not sure we could stop him if we tried."

Bulma had just about thrown a fit about being left alone again, so Kyoko had (very resentfully) chosen to stay behind and guard the Dragon Ball. _Oh, and Bulma, I guess,_ she had said. In the meanwhile, Homura, Krillin, and Gohan sped towards Guru's home.

Homura had not been happy about Krillin's insistence on speed. After all, she knew that when anyone on this planet used their ability to fly, it sent up a veritable signal flare that would let Vegeta know exactly where they were. But she also didn't need to alienate her new allies, so she bit her tongue and ran along beneath them.

But sure enough, the house on the spire was barely in sight when her Soul Gem flared with heat around her finger.

"Krillin!" she shouted upwards.

He just nodded, shouted something to Gohan, and started to slow down.

"No! Go with him! I may be able to distract Vegeta long enough, and if I can't, someone needs to be with Gohan just in case!"

Krillin glanced down, not looking particularly convinced, but also slightly relieved. He put on a fresh burst of speed to catch up with Gohan. Homura sighed softly. Well, here goes nothing.

She transformed, and reached deep into her core for the magic necessary. It took the barest of moments to weave her wings, and then (with some effort) she pushed herself up into the sky. It would be a terrible idea to be on the ground and trying to face Vegeta, even if it meant that she had to reveal one of her abilities. Still, she hoped she could hold herself in the air long enough. She usually only used the wings for gliding.

A pair of guns were resting comfortably in both hands when Vegeta came to a stop in front of her. He still had the Dragon Ball under one arm, and Homura could only assume that he had come straight from the lake after finding the other Ball missing.

"There you are," Vegeta said, eyes flashing. "You've changed back, I see."

The words caught her off guard.

"Excuse me?"

"Don't try to hide it, Homura! I saw your other transformation with my own eyes. Thought you would attack me, did you? Thought you would steal the Dragon Ball while I wasn't looking?"

"What are you talking about, Vegeta? I've been with Krillin and Gohan since you left."

Vegeta gave a bark of laughter.

"A likely story!" he said. "I suppose you thought you could distract me long enough while one of your new allies grabbed the Dragon Ball. I'll bet it was that other Puella Magi I ran into. Tell me, that red-head wouldn't happen to be your precious Madoka, would it? I thought she might be on the planet."

"What? The red-head you are referring to is Kyoko Sakura. Madoka is not on this planet. Not physically, at any rate."

"I'm sure, Homura. You just don't want me to hurt your precious Madoka in front of you."

Homura's fingers tightened on her gun.

"You are speaking nonsense, Vegeta! Your anger is blinding you – you aren't making any sense at all!"

"Stop playing dumb! I saw your attack me with my own eyes! And you didn't make much sense at that point either!"

"What _are_ you talking about?"

"'Turning, turning, turning, why does it never end?'" Vegeta mimicked in a mocking tone. "A sobbing mess. I don't know what you had to cry about, but it certainly confused me. Maybe _that_ was your strategy."

Homura's blood froze. She could hear her heart pounding much louder than usual in her chest. 'Turning, turning, turning'? 'Why does it never end'?

She could almost hear gears turning in her mind, picking up speed as they went. Vegeta had been attacked by a girl that looked like her. One that said nothing but nonsense...at least, it seemed to Vegeta. Kyoko had seen a girl: one that looked like a helmeted Sayaka in the water, like a fish – or a mermaid. And the other shadowy figure on horseback, the one that had created doubles of itself. And then the shadow itself that the Namekians were so afraid of, the one that Neyru had told her about, the one that killed all the Namekians –

"No," she whispered. "It...couldn't possibly be...that's against all the laws of the universe..."

And then suddenly, a burst of power caught her attention behind her. Vegeta, too, looked surprised. She turned around – it was coming from the house at the top of the thin mesa.

"That'll be Gohan," she said.

"What?" said Vegeta.

And he burst around her towards the house. Swearing at herself for letting down her guard, Homura shot after him. They reached the landing almost at the same time.

A tall Namekian stood outside the door, looking irritated. Krillin was also there, looking tense. The Namek muttered something in Namekian before switching over to something Homura understood.

"So who _else_ should I be expecting?"

"No one else, hopefully," Krillin said. "Homura, couldn't you have held him back for just a little longer?"

Homura sent him a withering glance, and then slid herself over so that she was between them and Vegeta. Gohan flew from the doorway, took in the scene, and ran to stand by Homura.

"Hello again, half-breed runt," Vegeta said. "You've gotten stronger since I last saw you."

"Wanna go, Vegeta?" Gohan said, taking a fighting stance.

Vegeta just laughed.

"Why don't I let you in on a little secret, kid. You're still weaker than the last two arrogant bastards I killed."

Gohan's expression faltered, but he didn't budge. Homura had to admire his courage.

But if what Vegeta had told her was true, and if what she was starting to put together was really why Madoka had brought her here, she didn't have time to waste with Vegeta.

The witches could be massing as they spoke.

But she had barely moved to start her clock when something caused her Soul Gem to burn. Vegeta's arrogant expression disappeared, and he whipped around towards the sky.

"What is that?" Krillin said. "Something really powerful is coming!"

Was it a witch? Homura's heart jumped into her throat.

But by the look on Vegeta's face, he already knew what it was – and there was no way that Vegeta would know a witch.

"That – no," he said, looking shocked beyond belief. "I can't believe it. He called _them_ in?"

He growled something in a language Homura didn't understand, and she could only imagine that it was some Saiyan swear.

"What?" she said. "Who is it?"

Vegeta glanced at her, and a mixture of anger and frustration shone in his eyes.

"Frieza's elite fighters," he said. "The Ginyu Force."

"Let me guess," Homura said, as the sky lit up with the explosion of their ships' landings. "That's bad."

"Bad?"

Vegeta's grin was sarcastic.

"It's terrible."

Homura closed her eyes. So. New fighters, ones that even Vegeta was afraid of. There were witches on the planet.

_Madoka, _she thought. _You have too much faith in me._

Then she opened her eyes.

"So. Shall we reform our alliance, then?"


	14. Army of Minions

This was not turning out well. Not well at all.

There were the Dragon Balls, just within reach – and there was the odd assortment of alien fighters between them and the wishes.

Homura took a swift assessment of the situation. The obvious leader of the group was significantly taller than her, purple skinned, with long black horns on each side of his head. The next tallest was blue and lizard-like, with a flat face and pupil-less red eyes. Beside him was a red-skinned alien with long, bushy white hair. The tallest and broadest of the group looked almost human, with a wide face and a tuft of orange hair on top of his head. And the last one was almost unnoticeable in the group, barely taller than Gohan with a round, rough-skinned green face and an extra set of eyes, each one placed on either side of his head. All of them wore the same space armor and jumpsuits that she had seen before, and they held themselves straight and loosely confident. These were professionals with more combat experience than even she could claim to have.

In comparison, they had herself, Krillin (whom she had not seen in battle yet but was certainly weaker than Vegeta), Vegeta (who had almost expressed actual fear at the arrival of these aliens), Gohan (who was, as Kyoko stated quite loudly, only five years old), and Kyoko (who no longer had any access to her magic which would put her at a significant disadvantage against enemies of this magnitude). Homura did not like the odds thus far.

"Long time, no see, Vegeta," the blue-skinned alien said with a hiss.

Vegeta scowled and did not reply. Homura tensed herself. She was unsure whether she should transform yet. On one hand, she needed to conserve energy, because she was out of Grief Cubes. On the other hand, these new soldiers were definitely stronger than Zarbon, and she had misjudged Zarbon's speed one too many times.

"Get the hell out of the way," Kyoko snapped at them. "Nobody asked to see the freak show – so move!"

The purple-skinned alien chuckled.

"I don't know who this is, but I think I like her," he said. "Vegeta, would you care to introduce your teammates? I'm most interested to know about the people that you, of all people, have allied yourself with."

"Shove it, Ginyu," Vegeta said.

"Hm, lacking in manners as always. I suppose I'll have to keep the common courtesy, then."

He glanced at his team with a snap.

"Ginyu Force. Attention!"

And then for the next half a minute, Homura found herself subjected to bizarre series of poses and shouted out introductions that made her think of the five minutes of Power Rangers she had seen when she was eleven.

"Guldo!" the small green-skinned alien said.

"Jeice!" the red-skinned one said.

"Burtaa!" the blue one said.

"Reecoome!" the orange-haired one said.

"And Captain Ginyu!" Ginyu said, ending up in some very awkward position that involved him turning his back to everyone else and bending over so that he was looking at them between his own legs.

Silence greeted the frozen poses.

Kyoko, of course, was the first one to break the silence. First with a snort, and then a rolling roar of laughter.

"What – what the hell was _that_?" she said, between chortles. "You've got to be kiddin_'_ me! That was the lamest thing I've ever seen!"

At the looks of unease and irritation from the others (particularly Vegeta), Kyoko quieted down. But Homura could still hear her snickering.

"Why you!" Jeice said in almost an Australian accent. "We work 'ard on that, you know!"

Another spat of muffled snickers came from Kyoko's direction.

"Calm down, Jeice. She'll understand soon enough," Ginyu said, straightening. "All right. I'll be taking the Dragon Balls. Ginyu Force, you'll take care of the trash."

"Just try it!" Gohan shouted.

Homura shifted ever so slightly. Vegeta held one Dragon Ball. Krillin had the other. As long as one was out of Frieza's hands, they were safe.

Vegeta's dark eye flickered towards her for only the briefest second. In response, she made a step forward, towards the Ginyu Force. Her motion caught the attention of the group, and five pairs of eyes glanced towards her for a moment.

And then in a glint of orange-yellow, Vegeta hurled the Dragon Ball back behind them. It rushed through the air so fast that Homura only caught the barest blur – ah, so that had been his plan. Clever. It would take them a while to locate that; Vegeta had quite the arm.

But those thoughts dissolved when Burtaa suddenly blurred. In a second, he was standing in the exact same position, but holding the Dragon Ball.

As a thrill of terror fled down her spine, Homura glanced back at Vegeta. His eyes were wide and blazing with fury.

"Nicce try," Burtaa said, a forked tongue flicking between his teeth as he spoke with a hiss. "But You sshould remember that I'm much fasster than anything you can throw."

"No way," Krillin said, a look of terror flashing across his face.

"Krillin! Destroy it!" Vegeta shouted.

"What?" Krillin said.

"The Dragon Ball – destroy it now! I'd rather have it shattered to pieces than let Frieza have it!"

Homura's heart flashed with an instant of thousand-year-old memories. She whipped around, planning on stopping Krillin by freezing time –

But the Ball was already gone.

A spark flared in her mind, and she glanced back to find Guldo leering at them from over the Dragon Ball, which was nearly the size of his head.

_"Guldo has that ability, but he doesn't have the firepower to back it up..."_

"Ah," she said softly, understanding.

"Good work, men," Ginyu said, looking pleased. "I've trained you well."

"Thank you, captain!" they said in unison.

"Geez, it's so cheesy that it's not even funny anymore," Kyoko said.

Ginyu hovered a few inches off the grounds, the Dragon Balls joining him.

"Well, take care of them as you like. I trust you to clean things up," Ginyu said. "Meet me back at Frieza's ship when you've finished."

"Sir, yes sir!"

Ginyu and the Dragon Balls flew up into the air – in a second they would be gone –

"I don't think so, ya bastard!"

A glimmer of red light caught Homura's attention. The silver blur of a spear cut through the air – Kyoko, no!

Ginyu barely even glanced Kyoko's way, even as she shot through the air towards him. And then in a flash of motion, Kyoko surged back to the ground like a comet. The impact jarred Homura's fast-pulsing heart. And Kyoko had vanished into the crater her impact had made.

"Well, there's one down already," Jeice said with a laugh.

The others joined him in laughter – Homura sent them an ice cold glare – and then she just smiled softly as she caught the glint of a spear poking up over the top of the crater.

"Holy _shit_," Kyoko said, pulling herself up over the side of crater. "That bastard didn't even look at me! Stupid piece of –"

"We get it, Kyoko," Homura said. "That was stupid and reckless of you."

Ginyu had already vanished with the Dragon Balls. It was just them and the remainder of the Ginyu Force. Who were, at this point, staring at Kyoko in disbelief as she hopped out of the crater, dusted herself off, and walked back over to her group without any visible injury.

"Whattya want me to do? Let him leave with them?"

"We have bigger problems," Homura said, fingering her Soul Gem.

The Ginyu Force was silent for just half a second longer, and then Jeice broke the silence.

"Forget Vegeta," he said, pointing at Kyoko. "I call fightin' _'er_. She's got spunk!"

"Hey! Nobody gets to call dibs!" Burtaa hissed.

"Calm down, everyone!" Reecome said. "We'll divide it up as we usually do. Let's see, there's the two girls, the two midgets, and Vegeta, so I say, the two midgets go together, and we divide up the last three one per person. Everyone agree?"

"Midget!" Krillin muttered indignantly.

"Agreed!" the Ginyu Force said.

"And now, let's begin the contest –"

And then, to Homura's absolute disbelief, the group moved into a circle and started...playing rock-paper-scissors?

She glanced back at Vegeta, who shrugged.

"Yes," he said, growling softly. "They are always like this."

"Damn," Kyoko said. "They're so strong, but they're so stupid! That doesn't seem fair."

Homura, however, was glad of the change. They wanted to do it in a one on one, almost tournament layout. This would give her some time to strategize, and it would not be as chaotic as a free-for-all. She wouldn't have to worry about blowing up her allies by accident.

This whole rock-paper-scissors thing also gave her a moment to speak to Kyoko.

She lowered her voice to a whisper, so that no one but Kyoko could hear.

"Kyoko...how bad _was_ that fall?"

Kyoko grimaced, and replied in the same tone.

"Pretty bad. My leg's broken. In two places. Not too mention I technically have head trauma and several fractured bones. Guess this zombie body's good for something, huh?"

Homura nodded quietly.

"Do you have enough magic to heal yourself?"

"I think so. It'll take me a few minutes though; I can fight fine even with the injuries."

"I don't doubt that, but we need everyone at their top form."

After a moment's hesitation, she reached over and touched Kyoko's hand. Kyoko stiffened as she felt the first sparks of Homura's magic jumping over to her. Instantly, she grabbed her hand away.

"Idiot! You need that magic more than I do – you can actually _use_ it for something!"

"Yes, but you also need to fix your injuries, and my magic levels are significantly higher than yours," Homura said. "Now stop whining and give me your hand."

Kyoko glared at her, not moving an inch. With a sigh, Homura grabbed her teammate's hand anyway and managed to send a few more ounces of magic to Kyoko. It would be enough to fix the fractures, at least.

She shifted her gaze to the Ginyu Force, trying to assess their strengths. It was no good, however. She didn't understand the alien anatomy well-enough to determine. Magical girls were much easier to read.

She thought about asking Vegeta, but the look on his face wasn't prompting conversation.

"Homura-san?" Gohan asked.

She glanced down, surprised. She hadn't noticed him come over.

"Yes? What is it?"

"Um...do you think we can do this? They seem really strong..."

Homura blinked. Well, this was something she hadn't been expecting. She had never been expected to give someone encouragement; even with Madoka she hadn't been good at it.

"Well," she said after a beat. "I haven't lost too many times before this. I think our chances are good."

She looked down, meeting his dark eyes.

"But why ask me? You know me less than you do Kyoko."

Gohan glanced down, embarrassed.

"Neyru said...that you were here to save everyone," he said. "I guess...I just need to believe in some kind of savior...because I don't think I'm strong enough."

Homura looked back towards the still oblivious to everyone else Ginyu Force.

"I've caught a glimpse of your power. I think you're plenty strong enough. Certainly stronger than I am, physically speaking."

"Really?"

Homura just nodded. Her heart felt funny. She couldn't explain why.

"I wish I could be as strong as my dad," Gohan said quietly.

Homura had nothing to say to that. But, it seemed, Kyoko did.

"Oh, yeah," she said. "Your dad's name...wouldn't happen to be Goku, would it?"

Both Homura and Gohan turned to face her.

"You know my dad?" Gohan said, looking excited.

"Kyoko?" Homura said.

Kyoko grinned sheepishly.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys. But Bulma told me to tell you she got a phone call from her dad back on Earth. Don't ask me how she gets a signal, I've got no idea."

"The point, Kyoko," Homura insisted.

"Right, right," Kyoko said. "Well she said Goku's coming. In a day or so. I don't know, is that a good thing?"

The change on Gohan's face was immediate.

"My dad is coming!" he said in an excited whisper. "He's coming!"

And in spite of everything, in spite of the terrible and powerful beings waiting to fight her, in spite of the witches she knew were just out of sight, and in spite of the terrible burden Homura knew she was holding onto, something in her heart sparked.

"Goku...huh...?"

A/N: I know, I know, it took me forever to post this and nothing really happened. I had planned on adding Guldo battle to this chapter, but then it was too long and it didn't flow well. Don't worry, Homura vs Guldo will be up before the end of the week, I promise. And, really, guys, I know you're excited for the story, and honestly I'm flattered that you like it so much, but please try to be patient with me. I'm in the middle of my senior year of high school, and I rarely get home before 5:30. I'm working as fast as I can to give you guys the best that I have. So thank you for supporting me thus far, and I hope you continue to support Wishes of a Different Sort!


	15. I Will Never Be Defeated

"So, the match-ups are as follows, then," Reecoome said.

"Finally," Kyoko grumbled. "I thought this would never get started."

Homura shifted on one foot, simply waiting as the Ginyu Force spread itself back into its line. The rock-paper-scissors tournament had lasted a good ten minutes. Homura hadn't minded – it allowed time for Kyoko to finish healing, and for herself to finish assessing the situation.

"Guldo will face the black-haired girl," Reecoome said. "Jeice gets the red-head. I fight Vegeta, and Burtaa gets the two midgets."

Burtaa swore softly.

"I wanted Vegeta," he muttered.

"No fair, he gets two," Guldo grumbled.

"I think I like this match-up," Jeice said, grinning smugly at Kyoko.

Kyoko grinned right back, but there was a hardness in her eyes that Homura knew all too well. Homura herself was quite pleased with the match-up she had received. She already had an idea of what Guldo could do – and she thought, perhaps she might be better at it than him.

"So, according to our decisions, Guldo gets to go first," Reecoome said, as he sent a wide grin at the scowling Vegeta. "Combatants, get ready!"

Guldo hopped out of line, his extra pair of eyes looking particularly blank and staring on each side of his head. Homura shifted to meet him, but she became aware suddenly that Vegeta was standing beside her.

"Yes?" she said, not quite looking at him.

"Do you know what you're dealing with?" Vegeta asked.

"I have an idea. Do you have any suggestions?"

Vegeta shifted, and Homura allowed herself to glance sidelong at his dark, calculating eyes.

"Guldo can freeze time. Like you. But he doesn't know that about you – that will give you an advantage."

"Good. Anything else?"

"If he gets desperate, he'll use his telekinesis."

"Telekinesis?"

"Moving objects with the power of his mind. Not to mention he can freeze you where you stand. And you can't freeze time if you're held down, can you?"

Homura really looked at him this time, surprised and a little worried that he knew this. But he wasn't looking at her, his eyes fixed on the impatiently fidgeting Guldo.

"Finish him quickly. You don't have room to be nice in this fight," he said.

And then he turned around and walked away. Homura watched him go. Then Guldo shouted at her to hurry up, and she turned to face her opponent.

Normally, the fact that he was less than half her size would have given her confidence. Not so now. He was an alien, with powers similar and perhaps, if Vegeta was telling her the truth, greater than her own. She could not afford to make mistakes.

"So, girlie," Guldo said with a sneer. "What's the matter? Are you afraid to fight me? I heard that you're pretty strong – but let's see if that's true!"

Homura gave a short sigh. And then she transformed in a rush of purple light. It was somewhat satisfying to see Guldo's eyes widen in shock at the action. But she didn't take too long to enjoy that satisfaction – instead, she plucked two handguns from her shield and emptied their contents right away.

Only three bullets hit their target, and they merely bounced off the alien armor. By then, Guldo had vanished. Homura tensed, ready to receive a blow from any direction –

But nothing happened. Confused, it took her a moment to realize the signals she was getting from her Soul Gem. There he was – behind a boulder, some feet away. So he had merely retreated, hm? If that was his first instinct, this might be easier than she had thought. She knew how to fight personalities like this one. It was so human, that she might have laughed.

"Hey, girlie!" Jeice shouted. "Come on, don't just stand there! Give us a show already!"

Homura didn't even bother to acknowledge his existence. Instead, she started her clock. As the world froze around her, she dashed towards the rock Guldo was hiding behind. Once behind him, she popped the pin and dropped the grenade right above Guldo's head.

She was sure to be far away before time started again.

Guldo's shocked cry as the grenade exploded let her know that she had hit her target. Not to mention completely shocked him out of thinking this would be an easy fight. Still, he escaped from the explosion with little damage – these aliens were tough.

"You –" he sputtered, looking around wildly. Apparently those extra eyes were just for show, because she was standing a few feet behind him and they didn't appear to notice her. "Where are you?"

"Turning in a circle might have been beneficial," Homura said.

And as he turned around, she pulled the trigger on her automatic machine gun. The alien desperately tried to suck in a breath, but the round of bullets knocked the wind right out of him. Most of them bounced off his armor. A few grazed his bare green skin. He tumbled backwards. It was almost comical: due to his rounded shape, he nearly rolled completely over.

But Homura didn't have time to be amused. She hurled the empty machine gun at Guldo. It bounced off the alien's head, producing a small 'eep' sound. Another pair of handguns dropped comfortably into her hands. Feeling the wind pick up around her, she darted forward.

Guldo's working eyes widened, and she heard him suck in a noisy breath – and then he vanished. She hesitated – and then dropped to the ground in rush of pounding ears and pulsing heart. An energy beam coursed over her head, just inches from where she had been moments ago. She rolled herself over and fired off a series of shots in his general direction. Then she surged back to her feet and removed a pair of grenades from her shield. Time froze again as she ran. She threw both hand grenades – and then left behind three remote detonators for good measure.

Everything exploded, and Guldo didn't freeze time to dodge – why not? If explosions had been going off around her, she would have frozen time immediately. Why the hesitation?

Guldo stumbled out of the wreckage, still mostly unhurt. He found Homura quickly this time. His eyes went wide and he drew in a breath. The moment the breath was all the way in, he had vanished.

And this time Homura did not dodge the energy beam.

The energy ripped through her side, and she cried out – more from the idea of what had happened than the pain. She thought she heard someone shouting behind her – maybe Kyoko. But the pain of her side was easily ignored, and her Puella Magi body continued to allow her to function normally.

_That's going to take a lot of magic to heal_, she thought dryly as she whipped around to fire off more bullets at Guldo.

Another energy beam cut the air, but Homura twirled around it.

But he was behind that boulder now! She froze time again. She shoved the handguns back into her shield as she ran. Obviously, firearms would be of no help in the remainder of his fight. Instead, she reached for her bow. Purple energy gathered at its tip as she drew back the string.

Time restarted as the arrow flew. Guldo barely had time to look up before the arrow pierced directly through his side. His painful cry was terrible, but Homura tried her best to ignore it.

_It's just a witch_, she tried to tell herself. _Just a demon. I can do this._

She drew another arrow to her bow as Guldo sank to one knee, but she held it for a moment. The little alien's breaths were ragged and pitiful. He was so...sad, really. He used his time powers to retreat, to hide from his enemy. He had never stood a chance against her, she realized, even though his physical strength was still probably greater than hers.

"You can try to freeze time, if you want," Homura said. "But I figured out your technique. You have to hold your breath to stay frozen in time, don't you?"

Guldo half-glared at her, but he actually looked scared.

"This arrow will fly much faster than you can take in a breath," Homura said. "And I can freeze time just by thinking about it. Even if my arrow misses this time, it won't the second time. You're outmatched, Guldo. If you surrender, I'll spare your life."

"Dammit, Homura, shoot him!"

Vegeta's voice cracked across the plain. But Homura ignored it. She kept her eyes on Guldo's.

But then, instead, the little alien started to laugh.

"Maybe you should consider surrendering!" he said. "Try and shoot your arrow now, girlie!"

With a sigh, Homura moved to loose the arrow.

And she could not move her hand.

She tried again – her fingers were stuck on the bow string. She tried to move the bow closer to see what was wrong with her fingers – but her arms were frozen too.

A terrible thought crossed her mind. Guldo's telekinesis.

"I caught you, I caught you!" Guldo said in sing-song voice, jumping up and down despite his injury. "You thought you were so cool, didn't you! But I tricked you! And now you can't move!"

Homura tried desperately to reach her time shield with her mind. It was no good! If she couldn't freeze time while trapped in Mami's ribbons, how could she possibly freeze time while trapped by someone's mind?!

"And now that you're stuck, I have to decide on what to do with you," Guldo said. "Aha! That'll work!"

Spots of perspiration were starting to form on Guldo's forehead. He had stopped jumping up and down, too. Instead, he was slightly hunched over, like the gravity of the planet had suddenly increased on him. The telekinesis must be wearing on him, Homura realized. Maybe, if she could hold out long enough for it to fail – or even distract him –

A cracking sound rang out behind her, stopping her thoughts in their tracks. She tried to turn her head to look, and then remembered that she couldn't. Guldo seemed to enjoy the effect this sound had on her.

"Uh oh, you can't see what I'm doing," Guldo taunted. "Do I see a little fear, hm?"

Homura wanted to snap at him, but she couldn't even talk. She pushed against the telekinesis as hard as she could. Maybe she could work his mind hard enough to hold her that he would have to let go. But it was no use – she couldn't even twitch a finger.

Guldo made a few umphing and oofing sounds, and then, slowly, a long, sharp tree trunk floated into Homura's sight range.

And that was when it hit her.

She was going to die.

Even though she could survive being impaled, her Soul Gem hand was right in front of her, holding the bow. As soon as that thing moved towards her, her Soul Gem would be the first thing to shatter.

_I won't feel any pain, though, if my Soul Gem shatters first_, Homura thought, as her racing mental functions started to shut down.

—_**Homura-chan!—**_

That voice!

The bow string suddenly slipped from her fingers and the arrow flew. At the same time, a flash of red darted back and forth in a rage of motion. And the pointed tree trunk broke into a hundred pieces, cut neatly by the edge of Kyoko's spear.

In slow motion, Guldo stumbled backwards, a hole bored through his chest – and then Vegeta was there, and a roundish object flew through the air, landing with a squelch in front of Homura.

Homura had just been about to stumbled to her knees after suddenly being released from the telekinesis. She thought better of it when she saw Guldo's head laying in front of her.

"Homura!"

As Homura took a step back, trying to avoid landing on the silently bleeding head, Kyoko was suddenly there. The red-head put out a hand to steady her.

"Damn, Homura," she said. "That looks really bad."

"Stop," Homura said with a snap, feeling a bit of magic trickle towards her. "You still have a battle of your own coming up. Save your magic; I have more than you."

But she did allow Kyoko to help her away from Guldo's remains and guide her onto a rock.

Her side was bleeding profusely. She touched the wound gingerly. She would have been dead by now if not for her Puella Magi body.

"Seriously, Homura, what were you thinking?" Kyoko said. "Ya should've shot him right then."

"And that's what I tried to tell you before," Vegeta snapped.

Homura glanced up at the looming form of Vegeta, his arms folded and his face dark.

"Are you telling me how to fight my battles?" she asked calmly.

"Homura Akemi, you are by far the stupidest human being I have ever met," he snapped. "Even those weaklings back on Earth were not opposed to killing their opponents."

Homura looked away from him. She did not want to deal with this right now. There was a wound she had to attend to.

"I _warned_ you about his telekinesis," he continued, still furious. "I _told_ you to finish it quickly. Being nice to your opponent is not going to win this war!"

"You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were worried about me," Homura said.

Somehow, this made Vegeta pause. He opened his mouth again as if to speak, and then snapped it shut and stormed away.

"Geez, what a kill-joy," Kyoko said. "You gonna heal that? Or should I?"

Homura rolled her eyes and turned her attention to her magic.

"Homura-san!"

She sighed at this new interruption, and looked up to see Krillin and Gohan running to meet her.

"Oh no, Homura!" Gohan said. "Are you okay? You're bleeding a lot!"

"How could you still fight with a wound like that?" Krillin asked. "You look like you're going to die of blood loss."

The subtle shift of Vegeta with his back to them told Homura that he was interested in that as well.

"Puella Magi secret," she said simply. "Now, please, I need very little interruption if I am going to focus my magic on healing. So look towards your own fights, please."

This would take some time to heal; if someone else was in trouble, she doubted she'd be able to interfere the way Kyoko and Vegeta had for her. She wondered briefly for a moment why Vegeta had even decided to step in. Did he still think her a valuable ally? Or could he possibly have a hint of empathy under that thick skin of violence and malice?

She doubted it was the last one.

"That wasn't fair, Vegeta," Jeice shouted across the field. "It was supposed to be a one-on-one!"

"Save your breath, Jeice!" Vegeta shouted. "None of you care about Guldo anyway. So you might say I was doing you a favor."

Homura's eyes flickered to the severed pieces of Guldo's body, and she shuddered slightly. At least Puella Magi disappeared after their death.

"So, can I go next?" Kyoko said under her breath. "Cause I need to kick somebody's ass right now."

Homura couldn't help but smile slightly, and returned her attention to her wound.

One down. Three to go.

A/N: Indeed, Homura, one down. Although I'm talking about chapters. And that makes two in one week! :D Plan on there being yet another chapter or two sometime this chapter, seeing as I'm feeling productive right now. Next chapter's gonna be a longer one...hope y'all are ready for it!


	16. I Continue to Fight

"I ssstill say that the midgets should go next," Burtaa said. "They should have been first, cause they're not worth much."

"Aw, you just want to have the next go, Burtaa," Jeice said. "Wait your turn."

"We already decided the order when we decided the match-ups," Reecoome said. "And that means I go next."

"But after a fight with Vegeta, everything will ssseem boring," Burtaa grumbled.

"Exactly," Reecoome said with a grin.

The orange haired man stepped up with a wide, frog-like grin that covered the whole of his face.

"You ready to go, Vegeta?" he said.

"Spare me the wrestling banter," Vegeta grumbled, shifting to face Reecoome.

Ironic, since he loved to banter himself when he thought the odds were in his favor.

Homura glanced across the scene, somewhat nervous in spite of herself. Of the group, Reecoome was certainly the largest, although seemingly the stupidest, if one could judge by appearances. That could be a terrible combination, especially when it appeared this battle would come down to brute force. She knew none of his techniques, but she had the feeling that he was the strongest of the group, behind Ginyu.

Vegeta, on the other hand, was also extremely powerful, though she had never seen the whole of his potential. Perhaps he was more powerful than she knew, but she couldn't be sure. As far as she knew, he was also intelligent, with the ability to assess his opponents if he took the moment to do so.

But judging by his tense stance, he didn't need to assess Reecoome. He already knew what he was up against, and he didn't like it.

The stare-down ended abruptly when Vegeta blew up the ground in front of Reecoome. The hulking brute flew backwards easily, but then, there was Vegeta behind him moving faster than the eye could see. He drove a fist into the back of Reecoome's head. Reecoome didn't take long to recover, spinning around and catching Vegeta in the side with his knee.

Homura swallowed. She tried hard to follow the action, but she had never seen a pair of fighters move so quickly. It was impossible for her to comprehend – she had been lucky when she had been paired up with Guldo. This Reecoome was a monster.

Vegeta landed another hit that should have been deadly – it might have been Homura's imagination, but she thought she heard something crack. But Reecoome didn't even flinch. He drove a fist into Vegeta's stomach and sent him flying backwards. The Saiyan warrior managed to stop himself before he crashed into a plateau. It didn't make a difference, though, because Reecoome was already in front of him, smashing him against the cliff face.

"Damn," Kyoko swore, and even Homura had gotten to her feet.

Her wound was healing, but slowly. Very slowly. If she stepped into the battle now, she might do more harm than good.

"He's gonna get himself killed," Krillin said, and there was a tremor of fear in his voice.

Homura knew what he was thinking: if Vegeta couldn't handle this brute, then who could?

Snap. Something clicked in the back of Homura's mind. Despite herself, she found herself turning around to scan the long stretch of motionless Namekian landscape.

Nothing was there. What was she looking for? She couldn't be sure – but her heart rate had accelerated. Something…something was watching…

There, on the plateau – the flash of movement! Homura tensed, and felt a tiny flicker of pain in her side. Just the barest remembrance of what she would have been feeling if she had still been a normal human.

"Akemi? What's up?" Kyoko said. "Why aren't you watching this? Vegeta's making a comeback!"

Homura glanced back, and when their eyes met, Kyoko must have seen something there – something she didn't like.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Homura said.

She took a deep breath.

"Keep an eye on the fight," she said. "Step in if things look bad."

"To help that prick? No way! He'd probably hate me for screwing with his pride and all that anyway."

"Forget about his pride," Homura said. "I don't think we can face Frieza without him. So don't let him die."

Kyoko sighed. She put her hands behind her head in resignation.

"All right. Fine. But what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to check something out."

Despite the protesting of her brain signals, she started walking.

"Huh? Where's Homura going?" she heard Krillin ask.

"No point in asking a walking enigma for the straight truth," Kyoko said.

_A walking enigma? Is that what Kyoko thinks of me? _Homura thought wryly.

Then she caught that uneasy sensation of a presence that should not exist, and she turned her mind back onto full alert. Her own thoughts no longer mattered.

Vegeta smashed against the ground, and this time, he wasn't sure if he could get up again. But get up again he did, pushing himself up on his elbows in spite of the messages in brain screaming at him to stay down. He glared with a fury dulled by pain at his still grinning opponent.

Reecoome smiled with that infuriating frog-like grin, basically unharmed despite Vegeta's best efforts. Although burns and bruises covered his heavily muscled arms, and his armor had been completely burned away, he still moved from leg to leg with a careless ease in nothing but his torn black jumpsuit. No injuries hindered his movement.

Vegeta spat the blood from his mouth – he must have bitten his cheek. With a concentrated effot, he rose himself onto his knees. But there his body's protests were finally heeded, and he moved no farther.

"This fight's just about done," Jeice's voice floated across the field. "Oy, Reecoome...since little Miss Mystery survived Guldo, I can take her too?"

"That'ss not far!" Burtaa hissed.

Reecoome paid no attention to his allies' chatter, but the passing mention of Homura caused Vegeta to glance involuntarily in her direction. He gave a start when he realized that she had vanished. The red-head was still there, stance tight and arms folded, her fire eyes hard with stubbornness. The two Earthlings hadn't moved either, Krillin tense with barely concealed trembling, and Gohan with fists clenched in fury.

But where had Homura gone?

For a moment, he thought she might have frozen time in an attempt to help him.

_I'll break her legs if she tries to interfere_, he thought darkly.

But no tell-tale explosions from her time manipulating attack revealed themselves. Nothing happened to stop Reecoome from widening his stance and started to collect energy. He was alone in the face of Reecoome's charging Eraser Gun. And he could not move.

The air started to warm perceptively, and stones moved and clattered across the ground by their own volition. Energy gathered about Reecoome, and Vegeta tensed. Maybe, just maybe, he could summon the strength to dodge, and take Reecoome off guard –

The blast fired. His vision whited out with the intensity of the light as the air became scalding. Everything disappeared except the energy bearing down on him.

For a moment, he felt the brush of a hand against his arm. Then he was in the air, soaring past the Eraser Gun that flashed harmlessly past him.

He hit the ground in a tangled tumble. The angry words were already out of his mouth.

"_Damnit Homu—"_

But it wasn't Homura that had interfered. Gohan and Krillin dropped to the ground on either side of him, panting heavily.

"You – can't – die," Krillin said. "We – can't take – Frieza – alone."

"Damn right you can't," Vegeta muttered. "But what was the point of that? Reecoome will simply kill all of us at once now!"

The soft tap of booted feet caught his attention, and he realized that the red-head, Kyoko, was standing in front of him, spear in hand.

"I was gonna let you die," she said. "Your own fault you didn't want help. But, hey, Gohan's involved now. And I was bored of watching."

Vegeta half growled at her. He smacked aside Gohan's attempt to help him up.

"I didn't need your charity."

"And I'm not givin' it," Kyoko retorted.

She spun her spear around in a practiced twirl. It had taken a few minutes for Reecoome to understand what was going on, and he finally turned to face them. Surprisingly, he didn't waste any time talking. He just acted.

The blur of motion was almost too much to comprehend, and before anyone knew what was happening, Krillin was flying across the field and slamming stomach down onto the ground. A loud crack split the air. Kyoko's face drained of all color. Gohan's went red with rage.

"You – you BASTARD!" Gohan shouted.

He surged forward so quickly that the air seemed to rip in front of him. Reecoome didn't have time to react before the tiny fist cracked across his jaw. Gohan didn't waste any time. He spun in mid air to clock the giant man across the temple with his leg. Reecoome stumbled back as Gohan hit the ground standing.

His hands came together, and energy exploded off of him in a rage of yellow light. The entire field flared with heat, and Vegeta glared against the explosion.

How had this tiny little half-breed managed so much power? He couldn't understand it! Vegeta's own blows had done so little damage, and then here was this little runt who had completely caught Reecoome off guard!

When the light finally receded from his eyes, he found himself holding his breath. Had...had that worked? It couldn't possibly have worked.

It hadn't.

Despite Reecoome's heavy breathing and the stench of burned flesh, Reecoome still managed to reach out and grab Gohan by the hair. All the rage that had fueled the previous attack had already faded, and Gohan was unable to resist as Reecoome yanked him inwards. The boy was too slow to prevent Reecoome from breaking his spine across his knee.

The cracking sound was terrible, and instantly Gohan's eyes white white with pain. No cry escaped him as Reecoome tossed him limply to the ground.

"Dammit, Reecoome, you ruined them!" Burtaa hissed. "Who do I get to fight now?"

"They interfered." Reecoome said. "It was the correct punishment."

The whole field was dead silent. Krillin looked with terror and pain at the limp, unmoving form of Gohan. The short man had still not managed to get up – paralyzed? And now Gohan was broken, perhaps dead on the ground. Vegeta smiled wryly. He disliked admitting it, but he would be the next to go. Damn.

And suddenly, Reecoome's chest was spurting blood.

The big man cried out, more from surprise than pain. A red blur flashed behind him, and another harsh slash cut across his back.

He whirled, but not quite quick enough. Kyoko was lost in a fury of rage. She swiped his legs out from under him with a crack of her suddenly fragmented spear. The chain-linked pieces swooped back to her and she flipped them back out so that they wrapped around Reecoome's arms and sent him careening to the ground.

Vegeta caught only a glimpse of the red-head's deeply colored eyes – and he couldn't contain his shock at what he found there. There was an anger bordering on hatred in that girl's eyes, a mess of half-concealed tears, guilt, and full-out rage. She was running on nothing but the adrenaline of pure hatred.

She didn't even pause to throw jabs at Reecoome. To her, there was nothing but the attack.

Reecoome managed to recover from the shock enough to punch her back. He followed it with a quick flurry of punches – but Kyoko didn't even flinch. It was as though she didn't feel the blows raining down on her. Her spear flipped back so that the dull end was forward, and she drove it into the big man's diaphragm. As he stumbled back, she was already twisting around to land a deadly slice between his eyes –

Another red blur came between them, slamming Kyoko to the ground.

Vegeta already knew who it was – and he was not disappointed.

"Oy," Jeice said. "Don't get yourself beaten up before I've 'ad my chance with you."

Kyoko flew back to her feet.

"Get out of the way or I'll kill you," she said, voice dripping acidly with hate.

"That's not how this game works, red," the alien said casually. "One at a time's how it goes."

Kyoko exploded again. She flew at Jeice, blinding swiping at him with her spear and nearly catching the alien off guard.

"I – hate – all – of – you!" Kyoko screamed. "You stupid – idiots – thinking killing is a freakin' _game_? I'll kill you! I'll rip you all into tiny pieces until you don't exist anymore!"

Jeice laughed, his eyes bright with excitement. He managed to grab hold of the spear's shaft and yanked it from her hands. Another one had appeared before Jeice had time to grin. For a moment, the two clashed, spear to spear.

Then Jeice flung the stolen spear away and launched himself at Kyoko. She dropped her weapon in the struggle. They tussled on the ground, muffled cries and yelps coming from their direction. Then Kyoko shoved Jeice off of her and rolled back to her feet. A third spear had appeared, but Jeice was ready.

A ball of molten red energy swirled to life around his fist. He flung it at Kyoko – she didn't have time to dodge. The energy hit her full in the face, and the heat wave was terrible. When the aftereffects of the flash had died, Kyoko was rushing forward again. Her hair was singed and her face slightly burnt, but she still acted as though she didn't feel the pain.

Furious tears were streaming down her cheeks – maybe from the heat, maybe from the stress, it was hard to tell. Jeice managed to side step her attack, but she had already swung around. Jeice grabbed the spear shaft again. Kyoko wasn't about to lose her weapon this time. She allowed him to pull forward and simply pushed forward herself, sending him off balance.

She rushed forward – but a grin flashed across Jeice's face. He fell under the swipe of the spear and jabbed two knuckles into Kyoko's diaphragm. Her eyes bulged – but she kept her footing. Not for long, though. Jeice rolled back to his feet and kicked out, sending the girl skidding across the ground.

And she didn't get up.

Her chest rose and fell with ragged breaths. Jeice stood cautiously. He brushed some dirt off one glove.

"Had enough yet?" Jeice asked. "Oy, don't give out on me now. I was having fun."

With an obvious effort, Kyoko pulled herself into a sitting position. Her eyes were harsh with fury – but her breaths were even harsher.

"You...you can't kill me, bastard," Kyoko said.

"What was that?" Jeice said, putting a hand to his ear. "I can't hear you."

"You did hear me, dammit, I said you can't kill me! How you gonna kill something that's already dead, huh? Tell me that!"

Jeice blinked, looking confused for a moment, but obviously decided to ignore whatever she was saying. And yet, Vegeta's curiosity was peaked. Despite his obvious disadvantage at this moment, his mind started to race at Kyoko's sentence. Already dead? What did she mean? Did this have anything to do with the fact that neither Homura nor Kyoko seemed to register the pain they felt? Was it something that Vegeta could possibly master if he got out of his alive? Perhaps that "Puella Magi secret" Homura had mentioned before.

But then the fight had resumed and his attention was brought elsewhere.

Kyoko was no longer holding her own. The fight had become one-sided – Jeice was simply beating her senseless now.

"So, I can't kill you, can I? I think that'll be fun to test!"

Kyoko tried to raise her spear, but it was simply knocked from her hands. She tumbled back to the ground, where Jeice continued to kick her across the field.

"What's wrong? Are you dying yet? Come on, this isn't much fun, is it?"

Kyoko never had a chance to get back up. Every time she seemed to summon the energy to stand, Jeice hit her again.

Puella Magi secret or not, Kyoko Sakura was about to die.

"_Kyoko!_"

The shout cut across the field, and all faces whipped around.

Homura had reappeared, her eyes wide and, surprisingly, terrified.

Half a second later, the air was cut with an overwhelming presence. Vegeta felt it, Krillin looked up, even Gohan moved slightly. A chorus of beeping scouters caught the attention of the Ginyu Force. And somewhere just barely in sight, a round spaceship started to fall through the sky in a comet of heat and light.

Vegeta knew who it was before the ship had even hit the ground.

"_Goku,"_ Krillin whispered.


	17. A Happy Scene

_Some time earlier_

Homura followed the hints of the shadow for the better part of twenty minutes. It did not occur to her until too late that it might be trying to pull her away from her allies.

By the time this thought passed her mind, she had come around a mesa to find her quarry right before her. The sight was so unexpected that she nearly lost her head for a moment – but she was Homura Akemi, and she kept her composure.

A great gray stallion stood before her, pawing at the ground. It tossed its head in an agitated manner. Its black mane flopped across its neck, and its red eyes gleamed at her. But it was the rider that caught Homura's attention.

She was somewhat transparent, the flanks of the horse visible through her long, decorative red kimono. Thick tresses of red hair fell across a too-familiar face. If Homura hadn't known any better, she would have thought it was Kyoko. The bangs were the same, the nose and cheeks cut the same way. But the eyes were not the warm apple-red of Kyoko's eyes; instead, they were the dull, glowing red of dying embers. And though the bangs were cut the same, and the hair pulled back with the same black ribbon, the girl's ponytail was a thing made completely of fire.

The sight was shocking at first, but Homura calmed as she saw how relatively insubstantial this potential opponent was. Neither she nor the horse cast any shadow, and as noted before, the girl was somewhat transparent. She held no visible weapons; her delicate hands were preoccupied gripping the horse's dark mane. And the fire of her ponytail appeared weak and flickering, more like a candle than a full blaze.

This assessment took only a matter of seconds to Homura's trained mind, and so she was already speaking as the last thoughts flew through her mind.

"Who are you?" she said. "Why did you want me to follow you?"

The girl did not answer. She only watched with dull, lifeless eyes. Slowly, the girl pulled on the horses mane to turn her steed around.

"Wait," Homura said, coming a bit closer than she would have liked. The girl stopped her horse in mid turn, so that the steed was sideways to Homura. "You're a witch, aren't you? Or some form of one. What are you doing here? How are you here?"

The horse pawed at the ground again, getting more and more agitated. Still, the girl only stared – but there was another expression in her eyes, one that was surprisingly readable. Confusion. It looked odd on Kyoko's familiar features.

"What are you doing here?" Homura pressed.

She touched her ring lightly. She would be ready to transform at an instant's attempt to attack. Despite the shocking appearance of her opponent, there was a measure of easiness in her heart that she could not remember feeling since she had arrived on Namek. She knew witches. She understood them. Their speed, strength, and magical power were on the same level, or even lower, than hers. They might throw her surprises, but they were not on the same level as the aliens she had fought before. This was her true element.

The girl considered the question for a long moment. Then she extracted one hand from the horse's mane and gestured back the way Homura had come.

"I don't understand," Homura said. "Who are you? Wait, I know this. You are Kyoko, aren't you? Or some form of her."

The girl cocked her head at the name "Kyoko." For a moment, she seemed to think about the name. She swallowed, and the horse blew out noisily. Then, for the first time, the girl opened her mouth. A breathy sound came out, a cross between fire and wind.

"I'm sorry?"

The girl tried again.

"_Ophelia,"_ the word came.

Ophelia? Was that her name? Or had Homura misheard her?

The horse whinnied, and the sound was eerie and echoing. Homura stood her ground, tightening her magic around her.

"What are you doing here?"

The girl gripped the horse's mane again. All of a sudden, Homura noticed the change that had been too slow to understand before: Ophelia was becoming more solid. A thin, wavering shadow had started to grow from the horses hooves, and Ophelia's ponytail was growing in strength and heat.

Ophelia swallowed again, and the sound that came out next was significantly stronger.

"Waiting," she said.

"Waiting? For what?"

But a tingling sensation in Homura's chest told her that she already know.

Ophelia looked toward the direction Homura had come.

"For her to die."

Everything else seemed to end around Homura.

"Kyoko," she whispered, surprised at the terror that coursed through her veins.

She turned and tore back the way she had came. Ophelia did not follow. Ophelia continued to wait.

Son Goku stepped gingerly out of the space ship. The touch-down had been bumpier than he had been expecting. He raised his hand to block out the glare – the Namekian sun sure was bright, compared to the darkness of space he had been used to. Now...where were his friends? And those fighters that he had heard about?

The clicking sensation of faraway energy sources caught his attention. Whose were they? That took a bit more concentration. Ah!

His eyes snapped open. Krillin! Gohan! Vegeta! And several others as well – but his friend and his son were more important. Why were their energy signals so weak? Goku gripped the bag of Senzu beans tighter as he exploded into the air. He had to get there. _Now._

An explosion went off under Jeice's boot, and as he stumbled back, Homura had appeared at Kyoko's side.

"Kyoko? Kyoko, open your eyes," Homura said. Even she was surprised at the break in her own voice. "Kyoko Sakura, open your eyes this instant."

Kyoko stirred, and her apple-red eyes cracked open.

"Aw, geez," she said. "Hey, Homura. Sorry, I must have gotten a little reckless back there. I'm fine, really."

She started to sit up, but instantly dropped back down.

"Aw, damn," she said, grinning sardonically. "Guess I really overstretched that one, huh?"

Homura fumbled in her pocket. No Grief Cubes? But she had been certain that she still had some!

"Oy, girlie!" Jeice started, glaring at Homura – but he was cut off.

He was cut off because someone new had suddenly appeared.

For only a split second, for some reason she could not explain, a picture of Madoka flashed across Homura's mind. But this was not Madoka. The man could have been twenty or thirty, it was difficult to tell. He looked young either way, and his arms were tightly muscled. He wore an orange gi, somewhat similar to what Krillin wore. Narrow dark eyes surveyed the scene from under spiky black hair. Instantly, Homura knew that he was the same kind of being as Vegeta. Those dark eyes and tense stance could not be mistaken.

But he felt so much different from Vegeta. The energy that radiated off of him was not a malicious aura. In fact, it felt so safe and warm, that Homura almost felt as though she were standing next to Madoka again.

"What's going on, Akemi?" Kyoko said. "I can't see too well from down here."

Her wisecrack was weakened by the crack in her voice, and Homura felt yet another tremor of hopelessness.

"Hang on, Kyoko," Homura said. "Just a little longer."

Cautiously, she lifted Kyoko upwards so that the red-head could see what was going on. Reecoome had already turned to face this new opponent.

"Reecoome has had enough of interruptions!" Reecoome said. "Who are you?"

The man barely even blinked. His dark eyes darted around, from Homura and Kyoko, to Vegeta, over to Krillin and Gohan.

He dug a pouch from his pocket and jogged right past Reecoome as though the big man didn't exist. Watch out, Homura wanted to shout. Reecoome is powerful – don't underestimate him!

"Hey!" Reecoome shouted, obviously thinking the same thing. "What do you think you're doing, ignoring Reecoome?"

Again, the man didn't respond. He dropped to one knee beside the limp form of Gohan, his dark eyes narrowed with worry. He pulled something small from the pouch. Homura couldn't quite see what was going on, but suddenly, Gohan sat up in a rush of tearful emotion.

"_Dad_!" he said. "Oh dad, you're here! You're here!"

The man smiled at the young boy, holding him in his arms.

"Yep," he said. "Looks like I made it just in time, huh, buddy?"

"Oh, dad, dad, it's been terrible! It's just terrible!" Gohan said. "Wait – Krillin, and Vegeta, and Kyoko! They're all hurt too – do you have enough Senzu beans?"

"Think so," Gohan's father said.

Gohan's father? Was this the Goku, then, that Homura had heard about before? The man squeezed his son once more, and then turned to Krillin next. Again, Homura did not know exactly what happened, but Krillin too sat up, apparently healed.

"Goku, you made it!" Krillin said. "I can't believe this – I thought we were going to die!"

"Not yet, Krillin, not yet," Goku said, with a grin.

He stood up, pulled another small thing from the pouch, and tossed it in Vegeta's direction. The dark haired Saiyan snatched it from the air. He opened his palm and stared at the item dubiously.

"It's a Senzu bean," Goku said. "Eat it, Vegeta. I think you're going to want to be in top form before this is over."

Vegeta glared at Goku for a moment, and then ate the small bean. The change was immediate – Homura could see it in Vegeta's eyes. Goku glanced over at Homura and Kyoko next. He looked somewhat confused, but started towards them anyway.

But Reecoome had had enough.

"Reecoome is going to make you pay attention, you puny newcomer!" Reecoome shouted.

He rushed at Goku, and Homura's breath caught in her throat – Goku didn't seem like he was going to move in time –

It happened in just a matter of seconds. Goku's fist whipped up. It caught Reecoome right in the diaphragm, making the big man's eyes bulge and his arms fall limply to his sides. Then Goku simply stepped back, and Reecome fell to land, face-first, in the dust.

Everyone – and it was definitely everyone – stared in absolute disbelief. Homura's mouth dropped open. He had just – just like that – without even blinking – maybe Reecoome had taken more damage than she thought in the previous battle? But somehow she knew this wasn't the case.

Goku was strong. Stronger than she could have possibly imagined.

"Oy!" Jeice said, fury in every line of his face. "What do you think you're doing? Bargin' in here, taking out people like that? You'll pay, you hear?"

Goku half-glared at Jeice, as though he really wasn't worth the trouble.

"Listen, just get your friends and get out of here," Goku said. "I don't want to have to hurt anyone if I don't have to. If you'll excuse me, it looks like some other people are injured."

He moved to get around Jeice, but Jeice wasn't about to let him through.

"To hell with that!" Jeice said. "You're facing me now!"

"And me," Burtaa said, touching down behind Goku. "I haven't gotten to fight at all yet. I'm bored."

The field fell so silent that Homura could hear the wind rustling the grasses, for the first time in hours.

But then everything exploded again. Burtaa and Jeice both flew forward, punches cocked back – and somehow, they missed. Homura couldn't believe her eyes. Goku hadn't moved at all, as far as she could tell, and yet they had both missed? How...?

She didn't get time to ask further questions. The pair attacked again, to the same result. The useless flurry of motion continued for sometime.

"Damn," Kyoko said, almost sleepily. "He's good. Damn good. I think I like him, Akemi."

Homura nodded, only half-listening. Her eyes cast about for Vegeta's. Vegeta's eyes were dark with rage, and they left Homura's eyes as soon as they had met. Instead, they cast downwards, to Goku's feet. Homura also looked. She drew in a sharp breath.

The ground left soft impressions easily here. And she could see, even from here, the various places that Goku's feet had been.

They weren't just missing – he was as fast as he was strong!

For the first time in a long time, Homura dared to hope. And she had reason to.

As compared to the previous battles, this one did not last long. Both aliens surged away from their opponent, circling him in the air. They hesitated for a while, perhaps thinking of new strategies. Goku didn't move. He didn't look at them either, but Homura could tell instantly that he was paying close attention to his opponents.

Finally, Jeice created a ball of deep red energy and flung it at Goku. He would have to dodge this – wouldn't he? Goku barely even looked at the attack. His arm snapped up, and just before the attack hit him, flung outwards. It smacked the energy back like a beach ball, sending it across the field to blow up against a mesa.

As Jeice and Burtaa stared in shock, Goku sped into the air. Burtaa was quick – but not quick enough. He rushed to try and catch Goku off guard. Goku was ready for him. He grabbed Burtaa's arm and flung him towards the ground with a crash. Then he flashed back downwards, driving a knee into his stomach. Burtaa cried out, but he did not get back up when Goku stood.

His dark eyes found the trembling Jeice, still airborn.

"Take your teammate's and get out of here," Goku said. "You can't win this battle."

Jeice hesitated for only a moment longer. Then he fled, leaving a trail of red in his wake.

"Coward," Kyoko said.

Then she began to cough, racking her entire body with the effort.

"Kyoko," Homura said. "Kyoko! You have to take deep breaths."

"Huh? Oh. No, Akemi, that's not gonna help me now. But, damn," Kyoko said. "He's good. Really good. I don't think you'll be needing my help anymore if he's around."

"Kyoko..."

Goku watched Jeice's trail disappear from the sky. Then, and only then did he turn around towards the others.

"Goku!" Krillin said. "That was...that was amazing! How did you kill them so easily?"

"I didn't kill them, Krillin," Goku said, shrugging. "They'll probably walk funny for a few days, but they'll both be all right."

"Yeah," Kyoko said quietly. "I think...I like him a lot...and you'll...work well with 'im."

Homura barely heard the murmurs of Goku speaking with Krillin. She looked helplessly to the sky, to the earth, to anywhere that might give her something to help Kyoko. Why? Why was she dying? This could not end like this. Not when they had just finally added the person to their team that could probably stand against Frieza! Not when the end was in sight!

Goku's eyes flashed across the field and met Vegeta's for a moment, and then they slid over to Homura and Kyoko. He jogged over to them.

"Hey, sorry, that took a little longer than I thought," Goku said. "So you're Homura and Kyoko, huh?"

"How did you –" Homura started.

"Krillin."

"He didn't have enough time for that –"

"Somebody taught me a mind-reading trick once. Only takes a few seconds."

Goku dug into his pocket again and pulled the pouch out.

"I think I might have a bean left..."

But Kyoko was already shaking her head.

"Nah, I saw what those do. It won't help me," Kyoko said. "Me, I could be bleeding like this all day and not die. Nah, I'm just a goner right now."

Goku blinked, looking confused.

"What do you mean?"

"That'll heal my physical wounds...but not the stuff I need replenished," Kyoko said.

She gestured weakly to the swirling black of her gem at her throat.

"Kyoko Sakura, you cannot die now," Homura said.

Kyoko smiled up at Homura, a somewhat sarcastic and yet surprisingly kind smile.

"You're gonna be fine, Homura," Kyoko said. "Absolutely fine...you always were fine...even when...I did stupid things...and when...terrible things happen..."

Her eyes were starting to close. Homura's heart jumped, and she propped Kyoko up even better. Krillin, Gohan, and Vegeta had slowly shifted until everyone was standing around, watching Kyoko.

"Kyoko-san? Kyoko?" Gohan said.

"You're gonna be fine," Kyoko repeated, but she was only talking to Homura. "Fine...cause...you never give up...even when...even when you have to start over...again, and again...or when...I...blow myself up over something..."

Homura's heart jumped. What was she...what was she saying? That sounded like – almost like she remembered –

But she could not ask Kyoko what she meant. Because suddenly, Kyoko's eyes opened up really wide, as though she saw something that no one else could see. A small smile danced across her lips.

Then her eyes closed for a final time.

And Kyoko Sakura faded from sight.


	18. Why?

Homura stared at the space where Kyoko had been only moments before. Actually, all of them stared at that empty space.

A low, mournful whinny blew down from the faraway plateaus, and Homura thought dully of Ophelia. But yet, it could have just been the wind. It was Vegeta, surprisingly, that broke the silence.

"She smiled," he said, no more than a breath. "Why the hell would anyone smile before dying?"

Homura ducked her head, trying to hide the forming of tears she hadn't known were left in her.

"Maybe you just haven't found a reason...to not be afraid of the end, Vegeta," she said quietly.

Vegeta snorted softly, and turned his back on them. Gohan sniffled loudly, and Krillin patted him awkwardly on the shoulder.

"We...we can bring her back, right?" Gohan said. "With the Dragon Balls, once we get them? Right? She'll come back, won't she?"

"That's right," Goku said encouragingly. "We'll get her back from the Otherworld. If she disappeared like that, that means a Kami took her body, right? So she could come back."

Homura hadn't thought of that. But the moment she entertained the thought, she knew that it would not work.

"No," Homura said. "No...Puella Magi...always disappear when they die...we don't...follow the same rules as you do. She is not in this...Otherworld. Her soul has been taken away completely."

_She's somewhere even better, _Homura thought.

"Madoka," she whispered. "Oh, Madoka. I hope Kyoko is with you now."

The silence dragged onward for a long, long moment. Homura's mind cast about, trying to understand her roiling emotions. She shouldn't be feeling like this. She had seen Kyoko die many times. She had seen many people die, even Madoka. There shouldn't be room for sorrow of this magnitude left in her.

But there was, it seemed. Her chest heaved with barely contained sobs. What was wrong with her?

She understood soon enough.

"She was the last one," Homura whispered, ignoring all the faces around her. "Kyoko Sakura was the last one."

Homura was the only one left, the only one still remaining from her travels through time. Kyoko had been the last Puella Magi left that Homura had made a connection with in her quest to save Madoka. She was a constant; even though she would die in one timeline, Homura would never cry. Her subconscious always realized that the girls she knew would be back the next time around, although she always told herself that this would be the last timeline, the successful timeline that would save Madoka. She still always knew that those three girls, Mami, Sayaka, Kyoko, would always be there again. Every time she started over, they were there. Even when Madoka rewrote the universe, they were still around her: not quite friends, but connections. They represented a time that only Homura remembered, but gave her the courage that that time had actually happened.

And now all of them were gone.

And Homura was truly alone.

Only one sob escaped her, and for that she was grateful. But she could do nothing to stop the trembling. The mysterious Goku, touched her shoulder with a gentleness that seemed out of place considering how easily he had dispatched his enemies.

"Hey," he said. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Leave her, Kakarot," Vegeta snapped. "If she's going to break down into a sobbing mess, she's not worth your time."

Goku's hand didn't move from her shoulder. She glanced up into his dark eyes – so different from Vegeta's, they were filled with warmth instead of icy harshness. She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I'll be fine," she said.

It was a lie. But that was okay. She had been telling that same lie to herself for so long, that it was easy enough for her to believe it. She stood shakily. Goku steadied her with his hand, and she glanced up at him gratefully. It was like staring at Madoka, she realized. Their warmth, their light, even their bearing was so alike. It was as if they shared the same material for their souls.

And it was comforting.

Homura rubbed at her eyes, trying to banish the familiar images of Kyoko snacking on something from her mind.

"I'll be fine," she said again. She believed it a little bit more now.

Goku patted her shoulder one last time and then let his hand drop. Almost as an afterthought, he glanced at her and spoke only two words.

But two words that completely shattered Homura's despair.

"Don't forget," he said.

Homura snapped up to look at him, jerked out of the memories of Kyoko swirling through her mind.

"W-what?"

Goku just smiled and winked. He turned away. Homura took a step forward, towards him, wanting to ask more – how did he know those words? – but then Vegeta's sudden blur of motion caught her attention.

The Saiyan prince shot through the air with a practiced ease, crushing Burtaa's throat and then shooting Reecoome with a blast of golden energy. In just a second, too fast to think, both Ginyu Force members were dead.

"Vegeta!" Goku said, his eyes flashing with anger.

Vegeta rose, spitting on the ground.

"Don't start with me, Kakarot," he snapped. "You should have killed them in the first place."

"Vegeta –" Homura started.

"And don't you say anything either, Homura! If that red-head and I hadn't stepped in during your battle, you wouldn't be standing here right now – and thanks to that damn conscience of yours! Being kind to your opponents is not going to win this battle. It's about time you – and I mean _both of you_ – started to come to terms with that."

Although some of that was direction at Homura, his eyes never left Goku's for even a second. The twin pairs of dark eyes clashed, ice to fire, and Homura could almost feel the air crackle with the tension.

Goku looked away first, his eyes still sparking with anger. He turned away from Vegeta as though pretending the other Saiyan wasn't there, and turned his attention instead to Krillin and Gohan.

"So, the Dragon Balls," he said. "Where are they?"

"Ginyu took them!" Gohan said. "The leader of the Ginyu Force!"

"Frieza's probably already immortal by now," Vegeta swore. "That whole fight was pointless."

"Actually..." Krillin said.

He flushed with nerves as all eyes turned on him.

"Well whenever we call on the dragon back on earth the sky goes dark all across the world," Krillin said, without even pausing for breath. "That hasn't happened so maybe Frieza doesn't know how to call the dragon?"

He held his breath for a moment after finishing that burst of words, and once everyone glanced away to look at each other, he let it out in a gust.

"That's true," Goku said. "I don't think Frieza has gotten the Dragon Balls to work yet."

Vegeta's previously angry glare had melted into a thoughtful gaze.

"If that's true," he said slowly. "His next move will be to locate the last Nameks on the planet."

"And force them to tell him how to activate the Dragon Balls," Homura said.

"But the only ones left are Dende, Neyru..." Gohan said, his brow wrinkling. "Oh! And –"

"Guru and Nail," Krillin finished. "Their power levels will attract him more – he'll go after them."

Homura tensed. Kyoko's limp body flashed across her mind once more – no, not again. Frieza would not be responsible for any more deaths today, tomorrow, or ever.

"Hold on, Homura," Goku said, obviously reading her stance. "Calm down and think. This is buying us time – time to get to the Dragon Balls."

"They'll be at Frieza's ship," Vegeta said. He paused. "And Jeice is probably bringing Ginyu this way. Frieza's other soldiers are pretty much useless, even compared to the bald midget."

Krillin looked offended, but he was wise enough not to say anything out loud.

"So they're mostly unguarded..." Goku said. "Okay, here's what we'll do. Krillin and Gohan will go get Bulma's Dragon Ball radar, then go get the Dragon Balls, while Vegeta, Homura, and I take care of the last Ginyu Force members."

"Are you sure?" Homura said. "Ginyu is the strongest of all of them...can we handle them?"

Goku shrugged, and Homura was shocked to realize that he really had no idea.

"I'm pretty confident in myself," he said. "And three of us against two of them...it shouldn't be too much of a problem. It might even be fun!"

Homura blinked at him. Fun? Fighting might be...fun? Judging by the gleam in his eye, he wasn't even joking. He was actually excited about this. Homura heaved a big sigh. What was the problem with the fighters on this planet?

"All right," she said.

Goku nodded, and glanced over at Vegeta. The Saiyan prince glared at him, and looked away. Goku seemed to take this as an affirmative gesture, because he then turned to Gohan and Krillin. After just a few more moments, the two were in the air and disappearing into the sky.

Goku caught Homura's gaze, and winked reassuringly at her.

Then the air darkened with the hint of an approaching presence. She turned to face the oncoming Ginyu and Jeice. They were still a distance off, and she took advantage of their few quiet moments.

"Goku," she said softly. "What did you mean, before? When you said...'don't forget?'"

Goku's lips twitched into a half-smile.

"I'll let you know after this fight," he said. "Sorry, but I've been itching for some real action for a bit now."

Homura sighed. Saiyans.

The world shifted. Mists swirled around a long, dark alley way. A horse's hooves clopped against the cold, dark stone, as strange looking fish swam through the mists.

A hint of flame sparked in the darkness, reflecting against the mist. The horse and rider appeared among the mist, the girl's hair alight with flame.

A shadow, deeper than the rest, emerged from the darkness. The shadow moved until it stood before the rider. The shadow send the rider a beatific smile.

"The last one..." the shadow said. "You're the last one."

The rider nodded silently. The shadow turned in on herself with a soft, gentle smile.

"We can start now..."

**This chapter gave me soooo much trouble. I rewrote it maybe three or four times because it kept feeling forced, and now I've split what I wanted to finish in this chapter into two chapters, because it was just too much. I think this chapter still feels a bit forced and cheesy, but...I had to get through this transition point somehow...**


	19. I Shall Rise and Rise Again

Homura's blood boiled when Jeice came into view. All she could think about was him mercilessly bearing down on Kyoko, knocking her down before she had a chance to stand up again, beating her senseless just because he could. And then when he was faced with someone who could do the same to him, he had fled.

He, at least, would receive no pity, and no mercy, from her.

"So that's him, Jeice?" Ginyu said.

"That's the one, Capt'n," Jeice said. "Killed Burtaa and Reecoome, he did."

_No, that was Vegeta_, Homura thought dryly.

Jeice didn't look at Homura, didn't meet her gaze. It was obvious he didn't realize her dark intents aimed towards him. It had probably never crossed his mind that beating on Kyoko would bring Homura against him.

"So you're Ginyu?" Goku said, an excited glint in his eye.

"Yes, that's me," Ginyu said, "And you are?"

"Goku."

"Hm. I've never heard of you."

Goku didn't seemed bothered – or even aware – of the perceived slight. Homura had thought earlier to ask him if he had a plan, but something about him told her than he barely knew what a plan was. There was no point in talking to Vegeta, either, as it appeared that he was still not happy with her. So it was up to her to strategize on her own.

Goku would certainly want to fight Ginyu. That much was clear. Vegeta...Vegeta would probably disappear at the first possible moment. He had no love for either her or Goku (especially Goku, it appeared) and teamwork was not his style. Now that they all knew that the Dragon Balls were unguarded, he was likely to go after them. And while Homura felt that she should protect Gohan and Krillin, she didn't think Vegeta would go so far as to kill them. Besides, leaving Goku alone against two strong fighters was out of the question.

And she wanted to fight Jeice.

She sent another dark look across at Jeice, anticipating this battle more than she had thought possible. If looks could kill, Jeice would have been dead four times over.

"Hey," said a soft, far away voice.

The white-clad girl looked up from the flower she was examining, towards the voice.

"Yes?" she said, her voice the sound of bells chiming.

"What are we waiting for? Doesn't she need our help? Aren't _they_ moving right now?"

The girl blinked amber eyes at her companion. Then she smiled gently.

"Don't worry," she said softly. "We're almost ready...she's just got to hang on a little longer."

"But what if she messes up? She doesn't even know what she's supposed to do yet."

The girl's smiled just grew even gentler.

"She won't mess up...because...Homura is special..."

Her theory had been proven correct, although Homura wasn't exactly happy about it. Vegeta had sped off before the fight had even started. She made a mental note to finish this quickly so she could go help Gohan and Krillin.

She waited only the barest of seconds after Ginyu and Goku began their fight. Then she acted.

Obviously, the red alien had not expected her to attack, because her first grenade sent him stumbling backwards with a shocked look on his face. She fired off two handguns, but now he was ready. He caught the bullets and flung them back at her, encased in red energy. She froze time, quick as thought, and rolled under them. As time restarted, she dropped another couple of bombs in his direction. These he dodged easily by rocketing into the sky.

Homura sent Goku and Ginyu a cursory glance to be sure that Goku was holding up – he was, not surprisingly – then returned to the fight at hand. Jeice dove from the sky towards her – she barely managed to dodge. Her bow sprang to her fingers. There was no longer time to posture with firearms and explosives.

As Jeice recovered himself, she fired off two glowing purple bolts. One pierced through his arm. He winced, but otherwise didn't react to the pain.

Homura drew another arrow to the string, but Jeice was faster. In a tumble of limbs, she found her bow clattering out of reach and herself pinned to the ground by her wrists, Jeice grinning down at her.

"Oi, there," he said. "Where's your little red-headed friend? She croak yet?"

Homura contained the burst of fury easily, filing it away into that bottle in the back of her head – the one that was probably going to burst soon.

"Kyoko is dead."

Jeice's grin turned predatory.

"So I did kill 'er then? Big fat lie she told, then."

Homura sent her iciest stare at Jeice.

"Yes, congratulations. Now allow me to repay the favor."

She flipped over with a mighty heave. The chatter had caused Jeice to lower his guard, and he was unprepared for the movement. The moment he took his hands away from her to steady himself, she vanished into time. There was no longer any holding back. She didn't have to worry about revealing abilities to Vegeta, and she couldn't worry about her magic reserves now. It was time to finally go all out.

As time restarted, she released her wings. The flash of light momentarily blinded Jeice, causing him to pause midstep. In that moment, Homura released another volley of arrows. The energy pummeled him to the ground. She burst up into the sky with a mighty heave of her wings. Magic crackled around her, and she felt her emotions building dangerously as the magic ran wild.

Jeice shot up into the sky after her. She released another arrow, then whipped her wings around her to shield herself. Jeice punched her wings, but they were pure energy and she didn't feel a thing. He tried again, but this time, she dropped below his strike in a free fall.

She shot off three more bolts on the way down. Just before hitting the ground, she flipped over, snapped her wings out, and glided at a blindingly fast pace along the ground.

She could already feel Jeice zooming along the sky just above her. The glow of red energy tinged the landscape around her, and she twisted out of the way of an energy blast. Energy spheres rained down like meteors, and it took all of her focus to continued twirling out of the way.

Altitude – she needed altitude!

With a great push of her wings, she shoved back into the sky. But Jeice was there waiting for her, and another sphere bore down on her. She dove to dodge it, but she was already too close to the ground. She barely managed to flip and touch down on both feet, and even after than she dropped to the ground and rolled a few more feet. Her wings dissolved on contact, and dust blew up in her eyes.

She coughed, trying reorient herself. Jeice didn't have that handicap – he appeared right in front of her and drove a fist into her stomach.

She flew across the ground, landing with a thump and skidding. She struggled back up. Jeice didn't give her a moment to breathe. Punch after punch pummeled into every part of her he could reach. She dropped to the ground, and even then he didn't stop.

Grimacing, she completely detached herself from all bodily sensations. It made her dizzy, and she could already feel the effects as her movements became stiffer, but the pain of the punches dulled away into nothing, and she could think enough to step back and freeze time.

She stumbled backwards, trying to catch her breath. Jeice stood frozen before her, face contorted in a terrible expression. She considered him for a short moment – an alien mercenary, with no empathy, no courage, and no loyalty. She could not find anything to relate to in him.

Then she drew another arrow and fired.

When time restarted, the arrow pierced right through his chest. It only barely missed his heart. His eyes bulged, and he dropped to his knees almost instantly.

"You – how –" he sputtered.

Homura could hardly believe in herself. She had been certain that his armor would diffuse most of the blow – she had seen it happen before. But then...she had never been this close range before. Perhaps the focused energy of her bow was on the same level as the energy blasts the aliens used. Well, it was Madoka's power. She wouldn't be surprised.

But that meant...

She...had won.

"You little –" Jeice started, a bit of blood coming out with his spit. He tried to get back to his feet, but instantly dropped back down, landing face down in the dust.

A strange sense of calm came over Homura. It was like the whole world had turned silent. Here she was, in front of an alien that she had hated, watching him die, because she had killed him. Somewhere inside her, she had gone numb at the thought of murder. In another place inside of her, vengeance for Kyoko felt sufficiently sated. The two conflicting emotions melded together and became a strange, death-like calm that she could not understand.

Finally, Homura found it within herself to speak.

"That was from Kyoko," she said.

She turned away. Now she could help Goku.

Or so she thought before the world turned red and everything became nothing but burning, terrible heat.

Amber eyes snapped open.

"It's time."

Goku and Ginyu faced each other, both heaving heavy breaths.

"You're sufficiently taletned," Ginyu said. "I'm impressed."

"Same," Goku said, grinning. This was intense – even more so than his previous fight with Vegeta!

A red motion caught the corner of his eye, but he spared it only a brief glance. But that glance sent his mind racing. It was Jeice – what was he doing there? He was obviously badly injured; he walked with a stagger and blood stained his armor. But hadn't he been fighting Homura? Where was Homura?

"Capt'n," Jeice called, his voice somewhat muted. "I'm cleaned up 'ere."

Ginyu nodded, not looking away from Goku.

"Yes, I'm just about done myself. Hold this."

He took off his scouter and tossed it towards Jeice. What? Goku thought. What was Ginyu doing? What did he mean, he was almost done? This battle had barely gotten started, and neither of them were tired yet.

And without warning. Ginyu punched through his own chest.

Goku's eyes snapped wide with shock; his entire body tensed. For a moment, he caught the sense of someone looking down on him, as a warning presence tightened about him – like that time, in space, when he thought he had heard someone speak –

But he didn't have time to interpret the meaning.

Ginyu's mouth opened wide, and a golden energy burst forth. Goku tensed to doge, but the light enveloped him in an instant. Instantly, he found himself unable to move. An uncanny stretching sensation came over him, like someone was pulling him in half. The feeling increased until he nearly cried out with the pain – and just as suddenly, it was over.

His vision blurred, and he felt weightless. He had the curious sensation of being suspended underwater, unable to hear, barely able to see, encased a thick, movement numbing liquid.

Then all at once the feeling shattered as a terrible pain grew in his chest. He wobbled downwards, but managed to keep himself in the air. Why did he feel so heavy? What was wrong with his arms? They felt like they were just a big too long. And what was this weight on his head?

His vision started to clear, and he found himself staring at...himself.

It only took a moment for him to understand what had happened.

"You..." he started, and then stopped, because the combined pain of trying to speak and the odd gravelly sound of his voice threw him off guard.

Ginyu/Goku smirked at him. The expression looked strange on his own features, and his head started to spin.

"Jeice, my scouter, please. We'll be headed back to the ship, now."

"Wait..." Goku said, trying to follow them. "You –"

They paid no attention to him. In only moments, they had become nothing more than dots on the horizon, and then, not even that. Goku, a stranger to his own body, wobbled again towards the ground. Even his chi felt strange and unresponsive. It was a terrible, disconnected feeling.

He could hardly think past the pain in his chest – but then the sight of a small, unmoving figure on the ground caught his eye, and he snapped back into focus.

_Homura!_

With great effort, he pushed himself drunkenly through the air. After too many moments of stopping and starting, losing his course and righting himself again, he arrived at her side.

She lay sprawled across the ground stomach down, her eyes closed. Her strange battle costume had faded, leaving behind only a school uniform. The back of her head was singed, and most of her hair was gone – the terrible smell of burnt hair rose off of her.

Goku coughed, and blood came up with it.

_No, no, no, we are not going to be finished here!_

"Homura," he tried.

She didn't stir. Didn't even open her eyes. For a terrible moment, he thought she might be dead, but a clear, steadying thought broke through the haze of pain – Puella Magi disappeared after they died. Homura was still here.

"Homura," he tried again, this time shaking her shoulder.

The strange purple gem cupped in her hand swirled with bits and pieces of darkness, some clinging to the sides like algae in a fish tank. For some reason, the sight of this made him even more hopeless for helping Homura.

He berated himself for allowing her to stay, for not paying better attention to her, for assuming that she could hold her own. She was half his age, barely even in high school – how could he have been so thoughtless as to let her be involved? He even entertained a moment of irritation at Vegeta for deserting them, but then he pushed all those thoughts aside. That was not going to help either of them.

But what was?

He looked out bleakly at the lack of life in all directions. Most of this planet's inhabitants were dead, those who were alive were unlikely to be nearby, or even be able to help them. Ginyu and Jeice were on their way back to the ship, and his son and his friend were going to be in danger – they wouldn't realize that Ginyu had stolen Goku's body, and think he was their friend. He might be able to struggle there in time to provide some kind of help, but that meant leaving Homura behind to die.

Why couldn't he protect everybody?

"_Don't forget."_

His head jerked up. That voice again! Who was that?

One moment she wasn't there. The next moment she was. All Goku saw at first were her booted feet, and their sudden appearance startled him.

He looked up into a young, beaming face.

"Hey," she said cheerfully. "Looks like someone could use a bit of healing magic."


	20. My Beloved Friends

**Thank you all for being patient with me. I apologize for the long wait. But at least the chapter is fairly long. (probably too long...I apologize for that, too.) I'll try to be more consistent now! Please enjoy the newest chapter.**

Homura awoke abruptly. A cry ripped from her lips before she had even registered why. And then the pain and horrifying memories settled in.

All she could remember were the terrible ghost sensations of burning, blinding, killing heat, suffocating her in nothing but pain – her entire body felt like something was ripping it apart, atom by atom. She flailed, trying to escape the pain, the thoughts, the terror! Firm hands gripped her wrists gently, not allowing her to move.

"Homura, you have to relax – you're going to hurt yourself."

The voice was rough and deep, unfamiliar. She gulped for breath. Her chest fluttered with shallow heartbeats. But she forced herself to lay still, even as tears began in the corners of her eyes.

And then, just as suddenly, the pain was gone. Only a cool, water-like sensation remained, washing all through her and around her, pushing out the pain. After a few moments, her vision began to clear and the images of dying started to fade. The wonderful feeling of being completely uninjured settled over her. How long had it been since she hadn't felt something hurting? It felt like forever. Even the thick, goopy feeling of magic corruption hanging on her mind had lifted.

The hands holding her down relaxed and lifted away.

"Are you okay now? Can you stand?"

Again, that rough voice...who was that? Homura turned her head slightly, trying to see the person addressing her. At the sight of the flat, horned purple face staring down at her, she sat up with a jerk.

Ginyu? What was he doing here? Why was she still alive – was she at Frieza's ship, planning on interrogating her? Well, they shouldn't have healed her then – she felt more than ready to take even Ginyu on! She scrabbled for her Soul Gem. But then dread settled in the pit of her stomach. Where was her Soul Gem? Had he taken it?

"Homura, it's okay," Ginyu said. He backed off a little, looking sheepish. "Sorry, I should have known you'd react like that. It's me, Goku. Ginyu used a body switch technique."

Homura scrambled to her feet, taking a few steps back. She didn't quite believe him, but...his aura didn't really _feel_ like Ginyu's. Still, it could be a trick.

"I told you she'd jump to conclusions."

The light, cheerful voice, bubbling with barely contained laughter, made Homura freeze. That voice – she knew that voice.

"Don't worry, transfer student, I've got your Soul Gem. It's all cleaned up, too."

It couldn't be. There was _no _possible way! But only one person ever called her 'transfer student.'

She turned, slowly, cautiously, her heart fluttering. A merry, blue-eyed face sparkled at her.

"S-Sayaka Miki?"

Sayaka grinned.

"She's here..." a soft voice whispered. "She's finally here..."

A dark figure appeared behind the voice's owner. The speaker barely looked at the purple-garbed girl, but the girl in purple looked upon the speaker with a gaze of pure adoration.

"Hm? Is something wrong?"

The girl in purple shook her head, the brim of her hat flopping in the motion.

"Only...one of her knights is here, now," the girl in purple said.

The first speaker nodded softly.

"I know...she's finally coming...to meet me...she'll try to stop me..."

"I won't let her – I'll protect you!"

The first speaker smiled softly.

"Thank you..." she whispered. "Together...we'll make heaven...won't we?..."

Vegeta had the strangest sensation that he was forgetting something. Of course, that was a stupid thought, and he shoved it aside angrily. He wasn't making any mistakes. Frieza was gone from the ship, Ginyu and Kakarrot would probably kill each other or at the very least, weaken each other so that Vegeta could kill them, and the Dragon Balls were certainly within his reach. He was forgetting nothing.

He splashed more water on his face, rubbing off the stains of blood and dirt. Then he glanced up at his own reflection.

Kakarrot...how had he gotten so strong so quickly? It didn't seem possible, but he had seen it with his own eyes. The low-born Saiyan should not have been able to reach such levels in this short of a time. Vegeta's fingers clenched in on themselves. No. It must have been a fluke. It had to have been. Vegeta was stronger than him. He had always been stronger, and always would be stronger!

_shwshwshu..._

Vegeta blinked. What was that? He glanced over his shoulder, but there was no one to be seen. He had expected that, of course. All of Frieza's men left behind were dead to a man. He had made sure of it; he had even made a sweep of the ship with his _chi_-sensing powers to be certain.

He was alone here.

For some reason, that thought made him uneasy. It shouldn't have. He was used to being completely alone, be it on a planet devoid of life or in the deepest echoes of space. So perhaps that wasn't why he felt uneasy. Was he sensing something, perhaps? Some sixth sense that was picking up on a change in the air?

As soon as he had become aware of the uneasiness, it started to fade. Whatever had caused it had disappeared...for now.

Vegeta's dark eyes narrowed. He was starting to become jumpy. The Prince of all Saiyans should not act in that way. He had never been so before. What was wrong with him? The answer came quickly enough – Homura Akemi. The enigmatic girl had introduced him to abilities and secrets that he had never before imagined possible. And he still had not gotten out of her the truth about that second transformation of hers. He had every right to be wary, but it irked him. He could destroy her with barely a thought, and yet she still made him uneasy.

Angry, he stalked over to the lockers and pulled out a new armor set. He pulled the stretchy material over his head, and yanked on the gloves as he walked. Now, where could Ginyu have put the Dragon Balls? They weren't in the ship; Vegeta had checked already. None of the other guards had seemed to be guarding any place particularly carefully...

_shwshwshu..._

Vegeta blinked. Was that the wind? This time he was certain he had heard_ something, _anyway. He paused, checking carefully in every direction. He even tried sensing, but nothing came to his attention. It was the wind, he decided. Nothing to be worried about.

Or so he thought until he caught a glimpse of fabric disappearing around a corner ahead of him. Every muscle tensed, every sense went on overdrive. He pushed himself forward, hesitated only a moment, and then shot around the corner.

For a moment, Vegeta thought he was looking at Homura. Then he realized that it looked nothing like Homura.

She was smaller and slighter than Homura, so willowy that it seemed the barest breeze would topple her over. She wore the same uniform as Homura, but her hair was short and in pigtails...and a bright, unnatural pink. But most intriguing were the eyes: a blank, empty white, like nothing was there at all.

For a sudden, inexplicable moment, Vegeta _could not move._ The girl stared at him – or at least, he thought she did; without pupils, it was hard to tell. A small smile flickered across her face, and then she stepped forward.

Then, suddenly, her smile was gone, and her eyes widened.

And then she, too, was gone, as though she had never existed. Vegeta could move again. His mouth was dry, and his heart beat as fast as though he had just been fighting Reecoome again. He shook his head angrily. Fury bubbled in his chest. Who had that _been?_ A ghost? Was she real or not? Had he imagined it? _What was wrong with him?_

In a burst of rage, he spun around and punched through the wall. His hand throbbed only slightly at the strike, but he found that the destruction had not assuaged his rage. So he pummeled the wall for a good minute. He only stopped when there were more holes than wall, and so no more targets.

He was glad when the hint of approaching power levels drew his attention away. Switching his focus to the arrival of Gohan and Krillin distracted him from what had caused his rage in the first place. Because he knew, in his gut, that he could get as angry at himself or the girl as he wanted. He could try to hide everything in his blinding fury. But he would never truly deny the truth.

For a brief moment, when that girl had walked toward him, he had been afraid.

Homura had thousands upon thousands of questions for Sayaka – but she found herself completely unable to ask even a single one. Sayaka didn't really give her a chance to ask them, either. The blue-haired girl hurried Homura back to her feet.

"Come on, let's hurry up! Our body-snatching friend is headed straight for all your buddies, and the Dragon Balls! Plus, I'm running on borrowed time right now!"

Her head still spinning with the impossibility of it all, Homura simply obeyed. She, Sayaka, and Goku in Ginyu's body streaked for Frieza's ship. Thanks to Sayaka's healing magic, both Homura and Goku were back to their full strength, and reaching Frieza's ship did not take long.

They burst over a ridge just as the false Goku flung Krillin halfway across the clearing. Krillin slammed into a rock and collapsed, struggling to get back to his feet. If there had been any doubt in Homura's mind about the body-switch technique, it disappeared now. Although that thing looked like Goku, his spirit was absolutely nothing the same.

She started to go for a handgun, but stopped herself. Anything she did in this fight would end up hurting Goku!

The trio hit the ground, drawing Ginyu's attention. Dark eyes with an unfamiliar malice turned on them, and his face flickered the barest hint of surprise.

"You got here quickly," he said. His eyes narrowed, and then widened. "Y-you're both healed. How is that possible –"

"Yo," Sayaka said cheerfully. Already in battle costume, she drew a sword from the folds of her cape and slid into a stance.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?" Ginyu said, eyes flashing with rage.

Sayaka just grinned, and it was somewhat annoying to Homura. What could she do? How could she fight this enemy while all she saw was Goku standing in front of her? Somehow, she had to force Ginyu to switch back – but how?

Goku moved behind her for a moment. It made Homura's skin crawl – despite knowing this was Goku, she was still wary of the big purple shape of Ginyu.

"Listen, Homura," he said in a low voice. "Don't hold back, all right? If he thinks he's going to lose, he'll try to switch someplace else – and that's when we move."

Homura hated the idea, but they were running out of other options. She nodded curtly and slid next to Sayaka.

"Sayaka Miki," she said. "Can you heal Krillin? We need all the numbers we can get."

"Gotcha, on my way," Sayaka said.

She darted across the field to where Gohan was trying to help Krillin to his feet. It occurred to Homura that it was odd how Sayaka already knew who Krillin was, but decided to save that though for later. At about the same time, Goku exploded forward. Ginyu, who had been turning towards Sayaka, was unprepared for the attack. He took a harsh crack against the jaw before he recovered enough to drive his fist into Goku's stomach.

Homura slid down to one knee, removing her bow. She would freeze time and pummel Ginyu with bolts, she thought. They had to force him to switch back at all costs.

But Sayaka's yelp diverted her attention, and she instead turned the bolt in Sayaka's direction. The blue haired girl had made it to Krillin's side, and Homura could see the iconic blue music staff of her healing powers. But Jeice had forced his way into the circle. Homura's sucked in a breath as she saw his wound from his battle with her close up. He grinned maliciously.

"Thanks, girlie," he said, and slammed his hand against Sayaka's throat.

Sayaka's eyes bulged, but she was quick to recover. Her sword came up in a deadly arc and sliced Jeice's armor clean down the middle. However, that only seemed to make him angry. Still holding her throat, he flung her across the ground. She skidded but came to her feet quickly. Disappearing into her cape for a moment, she reappeared surrounded with swords. She flung them with somewhat lacking accuracy, and only two came close enough to strike Jeice. He batted them aside with ease and advanced on Sayaka.

Homura took aim and fired off one bolt. The energy ripped through Jeice's shoulder. He whipped around with a scowl. Faster than thought, he released a sphere of burning red energy. Homura rolled out of the way and fired another bolt. This one missed its target completely, and Jeice fired another sphere. Homura ducked low to avoid it, but that put her in an unstable position. Almost instantly, Jeice was on top of her. His fist surged toward the back of her neck.

But then Sayaka was there again, a whirlwind of steel. Her double swords sliced into Jeice's arm. But his skin was tough, and they only lodged partway. He yelled with pain and anger and instead turned his fist on Sayaka. The blue haired girl took it right in the face. She lost her swords and skidded across the ground. It gave Homura a moment of recovery, just long enough to fire an energy bolt at Jeice's now unprotected chest.

He seemed to have been expecting that. The bolt whistled just past him, and his leg snapped up across Homura's temple. She hit the ground and tasted dirt. Another fist drove into her kidney, and flinched in spite of herself. Then she heard something surge through the air and connect with Jeice. She managed to roll herself back over in time to see Gohan slam into Jeice.

The red-skinned alien was thrown completely off guard, and that gave Gohan the advantage. He spun in midair to kick across Jeice's head. The alien went down. Gohan surged downward, and had the punch hit, Jeice might not have been there. But the alien managed to roll himself out of the way, and the ground took the full force of Gohan's punch. A small crater was left behind as Gohan recovered himself and went on the offensive again.

Homura could barely believe what she was seeing. This was not the same Gohan that had fought with Reecoome! Where did all of his power come from? There was no way he had been this fast the last time she had seen him fight!

She shook her head to clear it. Where was Sayaka? The blue haired girl was a few feet off, pulling herself back to her feet.

"Whoo!" she said, wincing. "These guys pack more of a punch than I expected. Thanks for the back up, Homura."

Homura just nodded in reply. Sayaka cracked her back once, retrieved her sword, and rushed back to the battle without even a pause in her stride. She and Gohan flanked Jeice, beating him back for a few moments. Convinced that they could hold there own for a few more minutes, Homura checked on Goku.

The scene was not pretty. While Ginyu seemed to have adjusted to Goku's smaller body quite quickly, Goku was having troubles. The heaviness of Ginyu's limbs was obviously hindering him, as his strikes seemed half as fast as before. Ginyu pummeled Goku in the chest and sent him careening downwards. It took Goku precious seconds to right himself, and by that time, Ginyu was already striking again.

Homura swore softly, then pulled an arrow back.

The world turned gray as time came to a stop. She aimed her arrow at the form of Goku – and hesitated. Could she really do this? Could she really attack Goku? Then she shrugged those thoughts aside.

_Curse humans and their reliance on sight_, she thought.

She aimed the arrow, closed her eyes so she couldn't see who she was attacking, and released. She knew when time restarted because she could feel the wind of the two battles being fought. She heard Goku's voice cry out, and winced in spite of herself.

When she chanced to open her eyes again, Ginyu was clutching at his shoulder. Blood leaked between his fingers, and Homura's skin crawled. Goku's skin was not the same as the aliens – his appeared to be more human, and without the space armor, it looked like her arrows pierced quite easily.

In spite of the wound, Ginyu didn't stop in his assault on Goku. He slammed his fists on Goku's head and the Saiyan in Ginyu's body slammed against the ground. Homura fit another arrow to her bow – but Ginyu didn't appear to be interested in attacking Goku at that moment.

Instead, those dark eyes twisted with unfamiliar emotions fell on Homura. Homura released the arrow in shock, but she was too slow. Ginyu dove out of the way with ease. In barely a blink of an eye, he was in front of her. His fist connected with her stomach and she flew backwards. She reached desperately for her wings, trying to stop her flight, but it was no use.

Ginyu appeared in front of her again, and punched her up into the sky. She barely had time to breathe before he then slammed her downwards. Her wings appeared to stop her – but just a little too late.

She crashed into Frieza's ship. For better or worse, she happened to hit a window and crashed right through it. Glass flew everywhere, and cuts opened all across her skin. She hit the floor and slid. For a moment, she was completely paralyzed. Her brain screamed pain signals at her, refusing to let her move until the damage assessment had been completed. But her Puella Magi powers kicked in, and she detached herself from these feelings. With a stilted effort, she managed to stand up.

She had taken a lot of damage, but her own magic would be able to heal it easily enough, and Sayaka even better. She could still fight as long as she kept the pain at bay with her Puella Magi powers.

Then a footstep caught her attention, and she turned around.

"Vegeta?" she said, surprised.

The Saiyan warrior smirked at her, arms folded.

"Having a bit of trouble out there, Homura?" he said. "You shouldn't have been holding back. Don't make that face; you were holding back and I could tell. Don't want to hurt Kakarrot too badly, do you? Even though it's only Ginyu in his body?"

Homura's fists clenched.

"That is none of your business, Vegeta," she said. "How I fight is of no consequence to you."

Vegeta's smirk turned into a glower.

"You are going to get yourself killed by acting nice," he said.

"Oh really? And since when do you care about my well-being?"

Vegeta shrugged, obviously ignoring the question.

"So, who's the blue haired girl? Another Puella Magi, perhaps? Is this one Madoka?"

Homura stared him down.

"For the last time. You are never going to see Madoka, because she's not here."

"I think you're just worried I might hurt your precious little Madoka," Vegeta said. "So is she the blue haired girl? Or maybe the girl with pink hair I ran across earlier? You're not going to get the better of me with little tricks like that one."

Homura was about to snap back at him when his words sank in.

Pink...hair...

"What..." she said. "Who...who are you talking about?"

"The girl that appeared earlier!" Vegeta snapped. "Don't act like you don't know; it was probably another one of your tricks to throw me off guard."

"You said – pink hair?"

Vegeta appeared about to retort, but then Gohan's cry cut across the ship. Everything else ceased to matter – there was a battle to be fought. Homura whipped around on her heel and surged back up through the window. She didn't wait to see if Vegeta followed, and touched neatly back onto the ground.

The battle was not going any better. Goku was still struggling with Ginyu, and although Krillin had joined the fight against Jeice, it didn't seem to have helped at all. Gohan was attempting to pull himself up against a rock, while Jeice drove a knee into Krillin's stomach.

Sprawled across the ground was Sayaka, her sword forgotten at her side.

Homura burst across the field to Sayaka's side, her heart jumping in spite of herself. She had never been close to Sayaka, but...she didn't want to lose anyone else anymore!

"Sayaka Miki," Homura whispered. "Are you all right?"

Sayaka shifted her head so that she could see Homura.

"Oh, Homura," Sayaka said, grinning weakly. "Sorry, I could've had him...but I'm running out of time."

Homura's heart skipped a beat.

"Sayaka, what are you talking about? Time? What's going on?"

"Sorry," Sayaka said again. "I wish I had more time to explain. See, I'm not supposed to be here yet, because the door hasn't opened...Madoka's bending a lot of rules."

"The door?"

"Madoka can't open the door yet," Sayaka said. "Because of her wish...well, she can't open it from her side. It can only be opened from this side...by you."

"What?"

Sayaka grasped Homura's arm, her blue eyes sparking with determination. Magic sparkled down their connection, sealing up Homura's wounds. Homura tried to refuse the magic, but Sayaka was stubborn.

"Frieza's not the only baddie on this planet, and he's not even the worst. Madoka and everyone has to get here to stop this...but they can't get here yet! You have to open the door so we can come through!"

"M-me? But – but how? And why? What's going on?"

Sayaka's image flicked out for a second, and then reappeared. Homura's heart nearly stopped.

"I'm out of time," Sayaka said, smiling apologetically. "Don't worry, Homura-chan. Madoka believes in you. You can open the door."

"But how?"

"Use the one thing on this planet that feels like a Soul –"

But she didn't get to finish her sentence. Sayaka was gone.

Homura barely had a chance to register Sayaka's words and disappearance when something exploded into her side. She skidded across the ground, but Sayaka's last gift of magic made her fast enough to recover.

Jeice glowered at her.

"I should've made sure you were dead," he said. "I won't make the same mistake twice!"

Homura didn't bother exchanging pleasantries. She materialized her bow and fired. Jeice wasn't expecting her to move so suddenly, and almost didn't manage to dodge. Homura was already firing another bolt as he tried to recover himself.

The bolt smacked him in the shoulder and spun him around, and the third bolt caught him in the chest. His ruined armor was not there to protect him, but the distance dulled Homura's power. A burn mark was left behind, but nothing else.

It only served to infuriate Jeice more. Faster than she could react, he shot forward. His hand slammed into her throat. She gasped, but there was nothing to breathe in and merely choked. Jeice then proceeded to whip Homura against a rock. He did it with such force that she was pushed halfway through the rock, and her head spun. But no sooner had she recognized the malicious face of Jeice in front of her, above to drive a knife hand through her diaphragm, he disappeared.

She managed to pull herself from the rock and instantly collapsed. Her vision cleared enough for her to see Vegeta and Jeice grappling in midair. Vegeta seemed...different. His moves were faster than Homura could comprehend, and his blows seemed to land harder. Jeice had appeared to be at least on the same level as Reecoome, and yet, Vegeta had the upper hand. With a sickening ease and brutality, he thrust a hand in the weakening Jeice's face, and the air exploded with light.

When her vision cleared, Jeice was completely gone. But there was the sickening smell of burnt flesh hanging on the air, and Homura's stomach heaved. In a moment, the meager contents of her stomach were on the ground, and she was gasping around the taste of bile in her throat.

His murder of Jeice didn't seem to slow him in the slightest. The next thing she knew, Vegeta was zooming down on Ginyu in Goku's body. Homura must have missed some of Goku's battle, because Goku was staggering back to his feet and Ginyu looked more beat up than before. So he was too slow to counterattack Vegeta's assault, and went slamming down into the ground.

Vegeta followed close behind, pummeling punch after punch into every part of Ginyu he could reach. Ginyu barely even had a chance – what had happened to Vegeta? By the time Homura had managed to pull herself to her feet, Ginyu was laying in a crater on the ground, and Vegeta was aiming an energy blast at him from above.

"Vegeta!" she tried to shout, but her bruised esophagus prevented anything more than a whisper. "Stop, that's Goku's body..."

But Vegeta could not hear her, and even if he could, she doubted he would have stopped. Then the air tightened. Everything took on a yellowish cast, and her head started to spin. She glanced desperately towards Goku, wondering what was happening and what she could do to stop it – and she found the answer in his eyes.

Ginyu was body swapping.

Instantly, Homura froze time. She surged to Goku's side and grabbed his arm. He blinked at the frozen gray surroundings, but she didn't give him time to ask questions. Half running, half stumbling, she dragged him across the ground and practically shoved him into the air, in between Ginyu and Vegeta. Then time restarted, and the air crackled –

Homura didn't see anything more. Her head spinning with something more than the injuries she had taken, she wobbled and hit the ground. No matter what she tried, she couldn't get back to her feet, but she didn't black out either.

All she could do was close her eyes, and pray.


	21. Witch Hunt

It was quiet. Too quiet. Homura's control over herself was still a bit shaky, and the scent of blood and burned flesh was still thick on the air. She was starting to think that Sayaka's appearance, and the entire battle, had been nothing more than a dream.

Frieza's ship opened up behind her, and she glanced back. Vegeta appeared in the doorway. He strode out with his characteristic arrogance. His victory over Jeice seemed to have gone to his head. Homura stood up to meet him, not willing to look weak in front of him. There was no telling what he might do.

"Goku is in the healing pod?"

Vegeta just nodded, studying her with a fierce harshness that unnerved her.

"What?" she said.

"What happened to that other Puella Magi?" he said. "The blue one."

"She went back."

"Went back where?"

Homura met his gaze, wondering how much to tell. How much he would believe.

"If it means anything at all to you," she said, with a flick of her hair, "Sayaka Miki died. Almost a year ago."

Vegeta snorted.

"Really? That's your story? That she was a ghost?"

"No," Homura said. "Not a ghost. She was..."

She trailed off. To be honest, she didn't understand it herself. Where had Sayaka come from? How had she appeared? Why did she have to disappear again? And what was her talk about a door? About Madoka? She had said Madoka's name. What did it all mean? And how was Homura supposed to open the door?

_"Use the one thing on this planet that feels like a Soul –"_

What had she been trying to say? A Soul Gem? Homura twisted her ring around her finger. Could that be it? Could she just use her magic to open a door? She doubted that was the way.

Vegeta's irritation did not hold off any longer.

"She was what? Risen from the dead? Did someone make a wish to bring her back?"

He laughed at that.

"No, I don't think that was the case. Why don't you tell me what really happened, Homura? Tell me where this Sayaka really came from, and explain yourself as to the girl I saw earlier."

Homura bristled.

"I should not have to explain myself to anyone, least of all you," she said. "And how can I explain what I do not understand? How about this: why don't you explain to me why you are helping Goku? Why you took him to the healing pod, and why you leave his friends be? I was under the impression that you were enemies."

Vegeta eyes flashed with rage. His hand shot out and grabbed Homura by the collar, lifting her slightly off the ground. Homura did not flinch. She did not drop his gaze.

"You really want to know, girl?" he said. "Perhaps you're trying to make me say that I actually need Kakarrot and his pathetic friends? Maybe you're trying to make me say that I'm afraid of Frieza?"

He laughed hollowly, and shoved Homura back. She easily regained her footing.

"I'm not trying to make you say anything," she said quietly. "You are the one putting those words into my mouth...perhaps because they are true?"

His face contorted in anger, and he stepped closer to Homura. She didn't step away. She was tired of this: tired of the constant posturing, arrogance, and tempers on this planet. She would not be intimidated, and she would not back down.

Sunlight glimmered across gems, and a faint whispering seemed to flee across the grasses. In spite of herself, Homura let her eyes be drawn by the sound and the light. Inexplicably, Vegeta's gaze was moved as well.

Both of them looked across at the Dragon Balls, sitting quietly in the sunlight. Orange and red glimmered in the constant sun of Namek. A breeze filtered past, and the grasses danced around the great spheres, sending green reflections across their depths. Another faint whispering trickled across the ground, and Homura drew in a breath.

_The one thing on this planet that feels like a Soul..._

_Not a soul,_ Homura thought. _A Soul Gem. The Dragon Balls...are like Soul Gems._

She glanced at Vegeta, wondering if he would advance on her again. But his dark eyes, although fixed on her, did not have anger in them. Instead, there was an intense curiosity.

"You heard that, didn't you?" he said.

"You heard it too?" Homura said, surprised.

"The whispering," he affirmed. "I heard it before...just before that girl appeared."

Homura shook her head. The wind picked up her hair and played with it, making black ribbons across the sky. The mysteries just kept multiplying. Why could Vegeta hear those whispers?

She let her gaze return to the Dragon Balls. They sat still and inanimate. From here, she could not feel that hint of a powerful sentience within them. They might have just been large jewels. How could she use them to open a door, like Sayaka had asked? Did she have to make a wish on them? If so, she would have to wait...they did not know how to activate the spheres yet. Krillin could be back at any minute with the password from Guru...

Homura wandered towards them, and knelt down in front of the one star Ball. Her face was reflected, distorted in its depths.

"Is it coming from here?" she wondered aloud. "The sound?"

She reached out tentatively. Her fingers brushed up against the cool surface. She could feel it then, the deep, ancient sentience that permeated the spheres. It sighed at her touch, thousands of hearts, memories, minds, wishes, all bunched up into seven great gems. Could she...reach into that magic...and open a door...?

_shwshwshu..._

She was aware of Vegeta standing beside her. He stiffened slightly at the sound.

"You can hear it," she said.

"Of course I can hear it," he snapped. "What is it?"

"I'm not sure."

She hesitated. Then she removed the ring from her finger and transformed it into Gem form. She held it before her, staring at the purple depths, and then looking up at the orange depths. Slowly, slowly, she twined a bit of purple magic around her fingers. She fed the thread cautiously forward, towards the magic of the Dragon Balls...

Suddenly, the sluggish magic of the Dragon Balls exploded. Homura fell backward. Her magic thread burst away from her in the lost concentration. Screams and shouts echoed in her brain – she couldn't see! She couldn't see!

"Homura! Dammit!"

Someone punched her in the shoulder. She realized all of a sudden that nothing had actually exploded – this magical intensity was happening completely in her mind. With a great heave, she pushed the thoughts of the Dragon Balls out of her. Thousands of spirits as a single entity continued to screech, but it was distant, as though through a screen. Vegeta was glaring down at her.

"What the hell just happened?" he demanded. "What were you trying to do?"

Homura shook her head, trying to clear it. The screeches faded back to a whisper, and she sat up. What _had_ happened? How could she explain it? She didn't understand it herself. Why had the Dragon Balls reacted like that? What had made them...

She froze. What...was that?

A new sound reached her ears. It was not the mysterious whisper, not the screams of the Dragon Balls, not the wind. It was...string instruments. The faint sound of string instruments –

She saw the wheel careening through the air just in time. Without thinking, she knocked Vegeta down. He swore as he fell, but stopped as he saw the giant wheel crash into the ground where he had been moments ago. Already Homura's magic was swirling to life around her.

She whirled to face the direction the wheel had come from – nothing.

She hesitated. The string instruments continued...but she sensed nothing. That wheel – she knew that wheel. And the sound of string instruments. It was too much of a coincidence to ignore.

Sayaka's witch was here.

"Where did that come from?" Vegeta swore.

"I'm not sure."

Homura flung her senses outward, but came up with nothing. Could the witch hide itself from her? She was shocked when Vegeta shot forward. There was a hard edge to his eyes and stance that told Homura he had sensed something, and he was going after it. Homura didn't stop to ask questions. She burst after Vegeta.

She had no idea how far they had ran when a tiny scream echoed across the plains. Her blood ran cold. That was Neyru! She put on another burst of speed. She and Vegeta reached the battle at the same time.

Neyru huddled against a mesa – blood dripped from a shallow head wound, that nonetheless looked worrisome if allowed to bleed. Dende trembled like a leaf next to Neyru. Standing before the two small Nameks was –

Homura drew in a sharp breath. The girl that stood there was both familiar and unfamiliar in startling ways. Dull blue eyes stared at the cowering alien children. Cropped blue hair was pressed against her face by a heavy metal helm with a white plume, and a tall diamond patterned collar thrust out behind her head in a heart shape. She wore a thick metal breastplate; her torn gray skirt matched a ragged gray cape. Metal boots encased her legs, gauntlets enveloped her hands, and a torn bit of fabric in the shape of a mermaid's tail dangled behind her.

It was in fact Sayaka's witch – but in a form Homura had never expected before!

She held her sword loosely. It was much different from Sayaka's normal swords – this one was as long as she was tall, with a wicked curve at the very end that almost formed a hook. She raised that blade now, blue eyes fixed on the Nameks before her.

"No!"

Time froze and Homura burst forward. She scooped the little aliens into her arms and burst away. The sword of Sayaka's witch hit nothing. She looked dully towards Homura, where she knelt with the trembling aliens. Vegeta landed next to her.

"Typical," he muttered, glancing at the aliens in her arms with a scowl. His eyes lifted to their opponent. "Who is she?"

"Sayaka...or at least, a part of her. Let me handle this, Vegeta. I know how to fight witches."

Vegeta snorted.

"And I can sense that she's barely worth my notice. Don't strain yourself, Homura. I'll dispatch of her in just a minute."

Vegeta hadn't yet moved when something crashed into the ground a few yards off. Once the dust cleared, Krillin appeared, coughing.

"Krillin?" Homura said. "What –"

She stopped herself, and her eyes shot into the sky.

"Vegeta, _MOVE!_"

She shoved herself backwards, dragging the crying Nameks with her. The yellow bolts hit the ground harmlessly in front of her. She caught a fleeting glimpse of the girl on the mesa, but it was enough to tell Homura one thing.

Mami had a witch version too.

The apparition, so much like Mami, and so different, landed neatly in front of Homura with all the elegance and grace Homura remembered. Her dress was completely yellow with a ruffled front and a line of buttons, almost like something a little girl would wear to a tea party. A bright teal ribbon gleamed at her throat, and she wore stockings of alternating teal and yellow down to teal strapped shoes. She was even wearing a bonnet, completing the little girl look. But there was nothing child-like about her demeanor. Mami's witch smiled beatifically at Homura and the squirming Nameks. Her eyes, too, were dull, as though some form of life had been stripped from them.

"Hello, Homura-chan," she said, surprising Homura. "Would you like to join my tea party?"

Homura glanced suspiciously at the twin muskets Mami's witch said.

"Who...are you?" Homura asked.

Mami's witch blinked.

"I'm Candeloro, Homura-chan. That's funny, I thought you knew that."

"It must have slipped my mind. What about the other girl?"

Candeloro looked off into the distance wonderingly. She saw Sayaka's witch standing still in the center of the field, looking at nothing, and smiled brightly.

"Oh, that's Oktavia. Oktavia von Seckendorff. She's one of my dearest friends. We were going to have a tea party. Would you like to join us?"

Homura leaned down towards Neyru and Dende.

"Make for the mesa behind us," she whispered. "Hide there. Vegeta, Krillin, and I will take care of this."

The two aliens nodded wildly. Homura stood up slowly.

"So," she said, looking at Candeloro, and trying to ignore how much she looked like Mami. "A tea party?"

Neyru and Dende made a break for the mesa, clinging onto each other's hands. At the same moment, Homura reached into her time shield and removed a set of guns. She fired in quick succession, then froze time and disappeared somewhere else. She was right to do so, because ribbon enclosed on the space where she had been moments ago.

"Homura-chan, come back," Candeloro said plaintively. "Don't you want to join my tea party?"

"I'll pass," Homura said.

She lobbed a grenade in Candeloro's direction. Candeloro shot it away with her musket, and it exploded harmlessly in the air. Homura used that distraction to go for a machine gun. Orange light exploded and the gun rumbled in her arms as she let loose its barrage. It was satisfying to see that, while Candeloro could take a lot of bullets without flinching, they did damage in a way that Homura had been unable to inflict on her previous alien opponents.

This was her element. Witches were what she knew.

Even if they did look like her lost friends.

She flung the empty machine gun away and drew another. Ribbons appeared in her peripherals and she vanished into time. She fired the contents of the machine gun in Candeloro's direction before restating time. Candeloro shrieked, and Homura took a brief second to see what Oktavia was doing.

Krillin was firing thin discs of energy at Oktavia, and she batted them aside with her own flying wheels. Vegeta attacked from behind, thrusting Oktavia to the ground. The wheels converged on him, slamming both him and Oktavia into the ground. This seemed to affect Vegeta more than it did Oktavia – the dull eyed girl didn't seemed to acknowledge pain at all.

Satisfied that Oktavia was more than covered, she turned back to her own opponent. Candeloro was bleeding badly, and tears were sparkling in her eyes.

"Homura-chan," she whispered, voice thick with tears. "Why...why are you so mean?"

Homura did not allow herself to feel pity. This was not Mami and could not be Mami, and she would not treat her as such. She flung another grenade, and this time, she was fairly certain she had hit her target.

But when the smoke cleared, Candeloro was still standing. And what was more, she didn't appear harmed anymore. Homura's blood ran cold as she caught a glint of snake-like eyes in Candeloro's sockets.

"You have to stay here," Candeloro said quietly, ominously. "You can't ruin my perfect world...you can't make me be alone!"

The world exploded. All at once Homura was tumbling backwards, head over heels. When she recovered herself, the very landscape had changed around her. The ground was a series of bright, cheerful colors. The sky shone blue, and cheerful yellow paths curved off into the far distance. She could not see a single mesa anywhere, nor could she find the distinctive double sun of Namek. Her heart jumped – she was in a witch's barrier! She looked around wildly for some sign of Vegeta, Krillin, Dende, Neyru – but although she sent her senses outward, she could sense no one but Candeloro. She had to assume that they had not been brought into the barrier.

She was on her own.

In front of her, a long white table spread forward, covered in a white tablecloth. Tea pots, tea cups, saucers, and sugar bowls lined the table, interspersed with plates of cakes and sweets. Candeloro sat at the very end of this table, completely unharmed and with a beatific smile on her face.

"Homura-chan, won't you come sit down? Join the tea party," she said. "One must have guests to have a party...you have to join me."

"I already said, I'll pass," Homura retorted. She reached for a gun.

Iron hands grabbed her wrists and wrenched them back. She nearly cried out – it was so sudden that she could feel the pain! She looked around wildly for her captors – and found herself staring into a horrible set of faces.

It was obvious who they were supposed to be: the pink pigtails and red ponytail were evidence enough. But their faces...oh Madoka. Homura couldn't describe them, could barely comprehend them: they were twisted and altered in ways that made her want to scream for the horror of it.

"You have to stay, Homura," the Madoka-shaped apparition whispered.

"Yeah, Candeloro wants you to stay," the Kyoko-shaped one said.

Homura struggled, but she couldn't believe how strong their grips were. The false Madoka held her wrists and pushed her to the seat beside Candeloro. The false Kyoko pushed her into the seat, and instantly, ribbons leaped upwards and bound Homura tightly to the chair. She tried to scream, but the ribbons tightened over her mouth as well. She tried to kick away, but her ankles were also bound to the chair legs.

"There," Candeloro said. "Now we can have a tea party!"

The ribbons tightened ever so slowly, almost imperceptibly. But Homura knew what was happening – the air was slowly behind crushed out of her. She pulled, yanked, struggled against her bonds, but it was no use. What was wrong? Candeloro shouldn't be this strong – her minions should not have been strong enough to hold Homura down! Homura had faced down Walpurgisnacht hundreds of times, and in comparison, normal witches should be nothing. Why were they so strong?

Homura continued to struggle as Candeloro began pouring tea into a cup in front of her.

"Isn't this fun?" Candeloro said.

The false sky shattered. Blue shards fell around them like glass. Candeloro screamed – it was cut short as Vegeta appeared and punched her in the throat. She fell back like a stone.

"Destructo Disk!"

A disc of yellow energy shot through the hole in the sky and sliced through Homura's bonds. She escaped, gasping. Vegeta didn't give her time to recover, yanking her up and zooming up through the hole. Homura could hear the mournful cry of Candeloro behind them – and then they were clear, up in the sun of Namek.

Homura tumbled to the ground, gasping for breath.

"'I know how to fight witches', hm?" Vegeta said in that obnoxious, arrogant tone of his.

Homura didn't waste breath answering. But that was when it hit her.

"You...came to help me..." she said slowly, looking at him with narrow eyes.

Vegeta shrugged.

"Don't flatter yourself. I merely wanted to rub your uselessness in your face."

Homura rolled her eyes, but her true revelation was not easily dispelled.

Vegeta had...broken through a witch's barrier...


	22. Clinging Terror

Dende and Neyru had fled to a safe place after Homura told them to run. Knowing the planet as well as they did, and being of such a low power level, it took the better part of an hour to locate them again. Vegeta tired of the search in about five minutes. He zoomed back to Frieza's ship with barely a goodbye, muttering something about a nap.

Homura wasn't too bothered by this. In fact, she felt a little better without Vegeta breathing down her neck all the time. Krillin seemed even more relieved than she did. He became quite chatty in Vegeta's absence, asking Homura more about the witches, about Sayaka and her mysterious appearance and disappearance, and her estimate of Frieza's powers.

"Wow," Krillin said. "You never said that Puella Magi turned into witches before."

"It didn't come up," Homura said. "Besides. That's not supposed to happen anymore. A powerful magical girl wished them away."

"So where did these come from?"

"I don't know."

"Huh."

Krillin was quiet for a moment.

"Homura...why do Puella Magi transform into witches in the first place?"

"They run out of magic. Or they despair. Either way, their Soul Gem goes black and shatters. In the original universe, a Grief Seed was born from the shards."

"But...they're the same girl they were before right?"

"No. They are monsters."

"The girls we fought seemed kind of like you. Not like monsters...just other fighters."

"These particular witches appear more human. I can assure you that their original forms were much more monstrous."

The silence fell again. Finally, Krillin asked tentatively,

"Why do they forget, though? They turn into witches...and then they're suddenly someone else? I don't get it. They have the same kinds of feelings as the original girls, don't they?"

Homura paused. The question...bothered her, in some way. To imagine that the witches felt the same things as their original forms made her feel like...a murderer.

"I...I suppose so. Only...their noblest intentions are gone. Candeloro, for instance...feels the loneliness that Mami once felt. She loses her grip on reality and tries to create her own, where she is not alone anymore. A witch is a manifestation of a girl's darkest emotions. That is why we had to destroy them."

"But what happens to the girl's good emotions?"

Homura hesitated. She was not liking this line of questioning. It was making her question ideas she did not want to delve into.

"I don't know," she said finally. "They are...forgotten. Lost in the darkness of everything else. Pushed aside in a quest to heal their own hurts."

Krillin nodded, and did not ask anymore questions.

Homura shifted, sending her senses outward to find the Nameks. A strange thought occurred to her. What kind of emotions would her own witch be formed of? What kind of monster would she have become if she had lost hope before Madoka had saved them all? What kind of world would she have tried to create?

The thoughts were unsettling. It was a terrifying notion to think that she could completely lose sight of herself, no matter what magic was at work. That she could become a monster as likely to kill Madoka as to protect her.

She shook the questions and the doubt away and focused on finding the Namek children.

Finally, they came across the two alien children cowering inside a crevice at the top of a mesa. It took about another ten minutes to comfort the crying children, much of which included them clinging to Homura's legs, and then they were on their way back to the ship.

Gohan leaped up from his seat on one of the Dragon Balls.

"You're finally back!" he said. "What happened? Vegeta wouldn't tell me!"

"We were jumped," Krillin said.

"What? By who?" Gohan said, eyes wide. "I thought Frieza was the only bad guy left!"

"Not anymore," Homura said shortly. "Where's Vegeta?"

"He's taking a nap," Gohan said.

Homura sighed softly.

"All right," she said. "Well?"

She glanced down at the two little Nameks.

"Do you know how to summon the dragon?" she asked them quietly.

Neyru and Dende glanced at each other. It was Dende that finally answered.

"Yes," Dende said. "Guru told me."

"We have to hurry," Neyru said. "Guru is dying, and the Dragon Balls will disappear with him!"

Gohan and Krillin exchanged glances over the heads of the aliens.

"Maybe..." Krillin said slowly. "We shouldn't wake up Vegeta."

Homura looked down at him sharply, but he had already started talking.

"Think about it: if he gets immortality, we won't be useful anymore," Krillin said. "He'll kill us, and we won't stand a chance. Not even Goku will."

"If he finds that we have double-crossed him, he will kill us anyway," Homura said.

"But Goku has beaten him once," Krillin said. "And he's much, much stronger now. Once he's healed, he can take on Vegeta – but not if Vegeta is immortal."

Homura licked her dry lips. She could see where Krillin was coming from, but...Vegeta's wrath was something she would like to avoid. They had no idea how much longer it would take for Goku to heal, or how much longer Vegeta would be asleep.

"All right," she finally said. "Let's go – but _quickly_."

Krillin flashed a nervous smile and moved to the Dragon Balls. With one large sphere in her arms, Homura tried her best to ignore the agitation and thickening aura of the sphere's sentience. In a slow, quiet group, they moved the Dragon Balls to a location out of sight from the ship. Homura gratefully set down her burden. The sentience of the Balls was becoming heavier by the minute – the spirits were agitated. She wondered again how she might be able to open the door to let Madoka and the others through. This dragon was said to grant three wishes...perhaps once Krillin and Gohan had wished their friends back to life, she could use one of the wishes to open a door.

She turned her Soul Gem over in her hands. Dende moved in front of the Dragon Balls, and Homura decided to take a step back. The little alien raised hands in the air and started to speak.

The language was unlike anything Homura had ever heard before. It was at once both harsh and smooth, a strange combination of sounds she wasn't sure she could repeat if she tried. The Dragon Balls began to shimmer. That shimmer grew into a glow, until they were alight with orange light. The stars within flashed red. Then yellow light burst from the center of the group, shooting up into a sky that faded to pitch black. The air tightened, and Homura found her breath coming up short. Then the pillar of golden light solidified and lengthened. It faded to reveal a dragon of massive proportions. It was twice the size of Walpurgisnacht, almost human in appearance with a long tail and green scales. Burning red eyes stared down at the tiny creatures below it, taking them in one at a time.

The sight took Homura's breath away. This was a thing so ancient that she could hardly comprehend it. A being made up of hundreds of thousands of consciousnesses, the spirits of the Dragon Balls all coming together to form a single entity for the first time in millenia. She felt pressed down by its overwhelming presence.

The dragon opened its mouth, and the same harsh syllables of the Namek language dropped from its tongue. Dende replied in the same language. Then the little alien turned to look at the others.

"You want to wish your friends back now, right?" Dende said in words that Homura understood.

"Oh, right," Krillin said, tearing his eyes away from the giant dragon. "Can you ask him to revive those killed by Vegeta and Nappa?"

Dende nodded. The message was relayed to the dragon, who replied. Dende looked back at them, brow knitting with worry.

"The dragon says its beyond his power," Dende said. "He can only bring back a single person per wish."

"What?" Gohan said, eyes widening. "But we have more friends than wishes!"

Krillin shook his head, looking unsure. Homura kept her silence. This was not her scene to participate in.

Or so she thought until a voice began to echo in her head.

_"Gohan, Krillin,"_ the hard, authoritative voice said. _"Wish me back first."_

Gohan's eyes lit up.

"Piccolo?" he said. "Piccolo, is that you?"

Homura's heart nearly stopped. Who was Piccolo? Was it one of their dead friends? How were the communicating with him? Krillin seemed to have the same question.

"How are you talking to us?" Krillin asked.

_"King Kai is letting me contact you,"_ the voice said dismissively, as if that explained everything. _"But never mind that. You have to wish me back first. Then wish me to Namek so that I can fight with you."_

"But that only leaves us one last wish," Gohan said. "What about the others?"

_"Have you forgotten? If I come back, Kami comes back too. And then the Dragon Balls on Earth are ready for you to wish the rest of these losers back."_

Krillin nodded, understanding more of this than Homura did.

"Okay, let's do it," he said. "Dende, please ask the dragon to bring our friend Piccolo back to life, and then bring him to Namek."

Dende nodded, and turned to speak to the dragon. The dragon listened carefully. Then his eyes began to glow a deep, burning red. Homura felt the air heat up – and then the tension broke. She looked around, trying to locate Gohan's friend Piccolo.

"Where is he?" Krillin asked, also looking around.

Dende spoke to the dragon. The dragon replied in grating tones.

"He says that your friend is here," Dende said. "But you didn't specify where on Namek so...he could be anywhere on the planet."

"Oh," Gohan said, deflating a little. "Well, that's okay. We'll see him soon, I guess."

"What about your last wish?" Homura asked softly.

She was still considering her own problem, studying the Dragon Balls, and the dragon himself.

"Well...we can wish all of our friends back at once back on Earth, now," Krillin said. "Our Dragon Balls can do that. What about you, Homura? You've been looking at the dragon pretty closely. Do you need to wish for something?"

Homura was shocked that he had been paying such close attention.

"Well..." she said thoughtfully. "If you're not going to use the last wish...I suppose I can see if this is even possible..."

She bent down towards Dende to tell him what to ask when a different presence cut through her very soul. She whipped around – too late.

Vegeta shot down from the ridge, his dark eyes positively burning with rage.

"Thought you'd leave me out of this, did you?" he said.

His hand cracked across Krillin's jaw and sent the man flying across the clearing. His eyes flashed at Homura. She tensed up, Soul Gem at the ready.

"Move aside," he said though gritted teeth.

"Make me," she said.

She barely saw him move. The next thing she knew, she was skidding across the ground. She leaped to her feet instantly to see Vegeta yanking Dende up by the collar.

"Now you listen here, you little brat," he spat. "You're going to tell that dragon to give me immortality, or I'm going to start murdering each and every one of you! One. By. One!"

Dende struggled weakly, looking absolutely terrified. The little alien could do nothing more than nod. Vegeta flung the child to the ground, and Dende turned to the dragon. The child started to speak the harsh syllables –

Homura's senses flipped into overdrive. She noticed the dark sky starting to fade. The dragon seemed to flicker a little bit, like a hologram disappearing. She didn't know how she knew, but she did.

Guru was dying. And the Dragon Balls were about to disappear.

She couldn't say why she reacted how she did. At the time, it seemed like she was supposed to. Her magic tightened around her. The clock started, and time froze. She shot forward to the Dragon Balls, touching the closest one. She could already see one or two of them frozen in the middle of turning hard and grainy, like rocks.

The Dragon Ball felt cold and strange under her palm, the entity inside leeched away to form the dragon. She pushed her palm against it, and pushed her magic in with it.

_Please_, she pleaded. _Don't disappear. I need a door._

She didn't expect anything to happen.

But it did.

The next thing she knew, the dragon was not frozen in time. It was moving, and twisting in the air, turning its burning red eyes on –

Her.

_You don't need a wish for that, little one_.

The voice was so loud in her mind that she nearly screamed from the force of it.

_You don't need to make a wish to open that door,_ it said again.

Suddenly, the dragon's face was right in front of her, and she was staring into those huge red orbs, her own face reflected back at her. She gasped – her reflection – it was –

_...Because you have already made one._

Then her Soul Gem was burning on her palm. The Dragon Balls glowed in response.

She lost hold of time and tumbled to the ground. The Dragon Balls shot up into the suddenly brightened sky. They hung there for a second. Then they dropped, one by one, to the ground, nothing more than faceless stones.

And the dragon was gone.

Homura lay on the ground, breathing as heavily as though she had just fought a battle. Vegeta's furious yell echoed across the field. Suddenly, Homura found herself being yanked up by the collar. She stared into Vegeta's rageful eyes.

"What did you do?" he said. "What the hell did you do, Homura?"

Homura's head still spun from her encounter with the dragon. She couldn't think straight, much less answer him. Neyru's tear-thick voice saved her from a punch through the gut.

"She didn't do anything!" the alien said. "Guru is...Guru is...dead!"

Neyru dissolved into tears. Dende followed. Vegeta's glare shot at them, and then he threw Homura back to the ground.

"You bastards! All of you!" he raged. "Don't you understand? We don't stand a chance against Frieza now! He'll kill us all!"

The raging Saiyan's eyes cast around for someone else to take out his anger on – and he froze. Homura sat up, her head still buzzing. She snapped back to attention at the look on Vegeta's face. Slowly, although she already knew what he was staring at, she turned to find the source of his fear.

Sure enough, Frieza stood on the ledge, looking down at them. A smile crossed his face – but this was a smile of barely constrained rage.

"Well," he said softly. "The Dragon Balls are useless now, are they? Who's fault is that? Who gets to die first?"

Homura's insides froze up and went dead. The decisive battle with Frieza was about to begin, and she knew they stood no chance. She had no choice but to stop feeling...

But then she paused. Her eyes wandered past Frieza. And in spite of everything, hope fluttered in her chest.

Because behind Frieza, a light had appeared. And a glowing door was starting to open...


	23. Unending Battle

"Homura," Vegeta hissed. "What is that?"

The glowing door pulsed several times, and what sounded like a faint musical note came with each pulse. Homura shook her head slowly.

"A door," she said softly. "It's a door."

She had done it. She had opened the door! She didn't know exactly how, but there it was! Frieza didn't seem to notice the glowing portal behind him. Nothing seemed to be coming from it, either, so Homura started to wonder if she had even been right to hope.

And then Frieza moved. It was so fast that Homura didn't even know he was gone until he had barreled into Vegeta. The Saiyan man went flying, but barely had he hit the ground before Frieza turned on Homura. She, too, went soaring through the air, although she managed to regain her footing. Vegeta was back up, surging at Frieza. He seemed to have no fear – perhaps the inevitability of the situation made him angry enough to try and fight it, no matter what. It seemed like something he would do. Frieza whipped around to face Vegeta. The two powerhouses crashed together. Frieza caught Vegeta's flying fists in both hands, and they struggled against each other's strength so hard that the very ground beneath them began to form a crater.

Homura didn't waste time wondering were Vegeta's power boost had come from. Instead, she whipped around to find the others. Krillin had leapt in front of Gohan and still stood there, staring with an open mouth at Frieza and Vegeta. Dende and Neyru huddled together, frozen to the spot. If Frieza turned on them, they would be dead in an instant. Homura time froze to get herself in front of the children. Where could she take them where they would be safe?

The air tensed with the increasing energy. Nowhere, she realized. She couldn't take them anywhere where they would be safe.

Frieza's scouter shattered. At the same time, the two combatants jumped back from each other. A slow, deadly smile crossed Frieza's face.

"Well, well, well, Vegeta. When did you graduate from kindergarten?"

Vegeta seemed almost as surprised as Frieza at being able to hold him off for so long, although that flicker of surprise was quickly replaced with a dark, wild excitement.

"Shocking, isn't it Frieza?" Vegeta said. "But you're just too afraid to admit what you already know."

"And what, exactly is that?"

Vegeta's grin widened.

"I have become the one thing that you feared. The reason that you destroyed my planet in the first place. I've turned into that legend that you were once terrified of."

Homura looked back and forth between the two fighters. What was Vegeta talking about? And would he please stop talking and start destroying Frieza before something bad happened? Couldn't he feel the energy rising in the air as Frieza listened patiently?

Homura shook her head. Why did she feel dizzy all of a sudden? She allowed a furtive glance towards the door. She had opened it, but now what? Where was everyone? The air felt suddenly thick, and it was difficult to breathe. For some reason, her chest was hurting, like it used to when she had her heart condition. Was she going to have a heart attack? No, that was stupid, she couldn't have a heart attack in her Puella Magi body.

"I have become a Super Saiyan, Frieza! And now I can destroy you! So why don't you go ahead and transform into your best form, because you're going to need the help against me!"

Frieza's unaffected smile did not change.

"Dear, dear, Vegeta. All you monkeys are the same. Very well, if you really want to see my transformation..."

And then the air really tightened. Frieza's body started to warp in unnatural ways, making Homura want to throw up. She didn't want to look, but she couldn't look away as muscles and skin bulged strangely. Then, suddenly, the Frieza she had known of before was gone. Standing in his place was a tall, broad-shouldered version of Frieza, whose very presence seemed to make the air bend.

Homura gasped for air, but it seemed like her lungs were refusing to inflate.

"Well," Frieza said, his voice much deeper than before, "what do you think, Vegeta? Too intense for you?"

His beady red eyes flicked towards Homura, and before she could blink, the alien was looming over her. She jerked back, keeping her body between him and the aliens.

"Homura, wasn't it?" Frieza said. "I haven't seen you for a little while. Think you can match me now?"

"I can only try," Homura said, dropping a gun into her palm.

Frieza laughed.

"Oh, you people are so amusing," he said. "In fact, if I wasn't so angry right now, I might be having fun."

Energy seemed to be growing in his palm, and Homura tensed to freeze time in order to protect Dende and Neyru –

But then Frieza was gone, before she could breathe, and by the time she realized which way he had gone – his horn was impaling Krillin through the stomach. Krillin didn't even scream. His eyes widened with the shock, but he was frozen at the end of Frieza's horn. The whole world seemed to freeze.

"One down," Frieza said with a cold laugh. Then he began to toss his head, making his horn move in and out of Krillin's wound. Now a faint cry escaped Krillin's lungs, and blood came with it. The look on Gohan's face was enough to make Homura crack.

Time froze around her. She released ten bolts of energy from her bow before leaping into the air. Her wings unfolded, she soared into the air. Krillin's face was frozen with shock and pain, and Homura nearly let out a sob. She was done with this – done with so much blood and malice and pain! She had thought she had left that behind at the end of her eternal loop!

With care, she lifted Krillin off of Frieza's horn. He came unfrozen at her touch, and a soft gurgling cry of pain came as she moved him off of Frieza's horn.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Homura kept saying, over and over, feeling the tears starting to prickle in her eyes. She couldn't do it anymore – she couldn't wear that cold, unaffected mask anymore! She had thought it was branded onto her forever since the loop, but it was starting to crack, and she couldn't handle this anymore!

With Krillin cradled awkwardly in her arms, she drifted gently towards the ground. Time restarted as she landed. The blood was terrible – she had never seen a hole this big in someone's stomach. She didn't think she could heal him fast enough to save him. There were tears running down her cheeks now, but she ignored them. Or at least, she tried to ignore them. But she was falling to pieces, and she knew it.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

Frieza seemed surprised that Krillin had disappeared. His red eyes glanced around to find his lost prey. Then the air crackled with a new strength, and Gohan crashed into Frieza. The alien warrior hurtled towards the ground, unable to stop himself, and a crater was left behind.

"_DAMN YOU! DAMN YOUR EXISTENCE!"_ Gohan screamed.

And golden energy exploded from his tiny frame, crashing down into Frieza. Homura shielded her eyes from the glare. It still managed to leave her blind for a few moments, and when she regained her sight, Dende and Neyru were crowding in front of her.

"Homura! We can heal him!" Dende said desperately. "Put him down, quickly! Before he's gone!"

Homura's head spun, but she did as they asked. Dende's little hands spread out above Krillin. After a moment, a soft, pulsing gold energy spread from the little green hands. The terrible wound sealed up before Homura's eyes. She knew her mouth was dropping open, but she didn't care.

"You – you can heal," she said.

Dende nodded. Krillin's eyes fluttered, and then he slowly sat up.

"I – I'm not dead," he said. He looked up at Dende. "You...did you heal me?"

Dende nodded.

"Thanks," Krillin said, still obviously in a bit of shock.

Then a cry broke out across the plain, and they all looked up in time to see Gohan hurtling towards the earth. Frieza streaked down after him, a malicious smile on his face.

"Gohan!" Krillin shouted, leaping to his feet.

Homura smacked at her time shield, praying she could catch him in time –

A red blur shot out from the glowing door. In an instant, Gohan's downward flight had halted. Ribbons burst from nowhere, entangling Frieza and slowing him down. By the time he had fought them off, Gohan was out of sight.

"Hey," said a familiar voice. "Anybody miss me?"

Everyone looked up, and everyone stared. Kyoko grinned in response, holding a battered Gohan gently in her arms.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"Kyoko!" Homura said, a lightness suddenly growing in her stomach. The fear from before dissipated in a second. "Oh, Kyoko! You're –"

"Alive!" Krillin said in awe.

"In a sense," Kyoko said with a wink. "Hey, somebody, wanna heal Gohan? He's looking kind of battered."

Suddenly, Frieza was there, looming over them. His red eyes narrowed.

"And who are you?" he said. "I thought I had killed everyone else on this planet."

"Ya did," Kyoko said, her grin gone. She held the broken Gohan protectively, and Frieza's eyes flicked down to the little Saiyan boy.

"I believe that's mine," he said.

"Try and take him," Kyoko swore.

Frieza seemed about to do just that. But Krillin, to everyone's surprise, jumped into action first.

"Destructo Disc!"

The yellow energy snapped through the air. Frieza only barely jumped out of the way, but his tail was left behind. The energy sliced right through the tip of his tail, and the severed piece hit the ground with a disgusting wriggle. Frieza's furious eyes snapped to Krillin, as though he had only just noticed the short man.

"You!" Frieza said. "Why are you alive?"

Then a blur blur shot across behind him, leaving a slice down his back.

"Sayaka!" Kyoko shouted.

The blue haired girl grinned as she landed, sending a wink Homura's way. Then she stuck her tongue out at Frieza and made a "nyeh-nyeh" sound, before streaking off. Seething, Frieza shot after her. He probably would have caught her, except he didn't expect Krillin to follow him too. Another golden disc flew past him, and with a cry of frustration, the alien warrior shot after Krillin instead. Sayaka attacked him again from behind, and the process continued into the far distance.

"Damn," Kyoko said. "If she gets herself killed this early on, I'm gonna give her a smackdown when this is all over."

"You're all – you're back," Homura said.

"What'd you expect? That we'd leave ya to do this by yourself? Not a chance, Homura," Kyoko said. "Hey, Dende, or Neyru, whichever, will someone please heal Gohan?"

She set the boy carefully on the ground. This time, Neyru used the magical golden energy to bring Gohan back from near death. The little boy shuddered slightly, and opened his eyes. He shot up as soon as he realized he was awake and healed.

"Krillin –" he started.

Then he looked up and around, and saw Kyoko. Kyoko grinned and winked.

"Hey," she said.

"Kyoko!" Gohan said, eyes lighting up. "You're alive! But how?"

Kyoko didn't get to answer, because Vegeta streaked down to the ground, his eyes flashing angrily.

"How the hell is she here?" he said, pointing at Kyoko. "And where the hell did that other girl come from? What did you do, Homura?"

"She opened a door," said a soft, elegant voice.

Homura's heart jumped. Sure enough, everyone turned around to see none other than Mami Tomoe. The blonde girl smiled gently.

"Hello, Homura. It's been a while. I'm so sorry you had to do this all by yourself for so long."

"T-Tomoe-san," Homura said.

The tears threatened to start again, but this time, she held them back. She wiped her face, and got back to her feet.

"All of you...all of you are back," she said.

"Of course," Mami said.

"You can't do this by yourself, Homura," Kyoko said.

Homura swallowed. And then, she allowed herself the first smile in ages.

"Just like old times," she said.

"Yeah, if old times took place on an alien planet!"

This remark belonged, of course, to Sayaka, who had reappeared with Krillin beside her. The blue haired girl smiled broadly, and Homura returned the smile with a small one of her own. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually smiled at Sayaka.

"Ready for a real smack down, transfer student?" Sayaka asked.

"I suppose so."

Without another word, the four girls turned as one.

Frieza was back.

But he wasn't expecting them all together.


	24. Symposium of Witches

Homura had expected Frieza to start asking angry and threatening questions about where the new girls had come from. But she was wrong – it seemed Frieza had reached the end of his patience. He simply rushed them, catching everyone off guard.

Mami went flying in one direction, Krillin in the other. Swearing, Kyoko tackled Frieza before he could turn on the Namekian children. Homura grabbed the kids by the arm, froze time, and left them behind a plateau to hide. Kyoko was already on the ground by the time Homura arrived, Frieza's taloned foot digging into her diaphragm.

By then, Mami was back on her feet, firing several muskets in Frieza's direction. Frieza batted them aside and sent an energy beam at her. Mami flipped out of the way with her characteristic grace. Her attack had made Frieza relax his hold on Kyoko, and Kyoko flipped him off of her. She managed to land a strike on his stomach before he blasted her in the face. She slammed into a plateau thirty feet away, dust rising from her crater.

Frieza zoomed after her, probably meaning to finish the job, but Gohan attacked him from above. The alien warlord wasted precious seconds righting himself, and by that time, Vegeta was surging up from underneath him. The Saiyan prince and the alien warlord clashed for a moment. Neither gained the upper hand over the other – then Frieza's tail whipped around and grabbed Vegeta's leg. Frieza flung Vegeta towards the Earth.

This had given Homura more than enough time to gather her assault. It was a large bit of magic that she wasn't too keen on using so early on in the battle, but it seemed necessary. The ground began to crack and crumble as she used her magic to pull an anti-aircraft gun from her shield and through the ground.

Mami noticed her movements instantly, and reacted the way Homura had hoped she was. Frieza was busy with Kyoko and Sayaka flashing back and forth, and didn't see Mami coming until it was too late. Bright yellow ribbons burst from the ground, wrapping tightly around the warrior. Instantly, Homura froze time – there was no way that would hold him for long. She rested a hand against the anti-aircraft missile, and it began to glow with her purple energy. She wouldn't be able to hold this weapon here for long – she would get one shot.

The missile fired. At the same time, Homura ran forward to grab Kyoko and Sayaka by the arms. She pulled them into the frozen time and then, without explaining, dragged them away from Frieza. This most definitely wouldn't kill Frieza, but it would certainly hurt the magical girls.

When time restarted, Frieza ripped free of the ribbons. But he didn't have time to dodge the missile, and it exploded on top of him.

"Yeah!" Sayaka said, punching the air.

But Homura knew better than to think that had killed him – even mortally injured him. At best, they had only slowed him down. Still, they seemed to be keeping him confused with their numbers – they might just have a chance!

That thought barely had time to grow in her mind. Then the world exploded around her. She felt energy burn into her and she crashed into the ground with such force that it left a crater. Instantly, Frieza was on top of her, his foot pressing her farther into the hole.

"You and your friends are giving me a right bit of trouble," Frieza said, looking absolutely furious. "Well, that's going to stop now."

A beam grew at his finger. Then a blur knocked into him, and he was gone. Homura gasped for air as Sayaka appeared above her.

"Oh geez," Sayaka said.

Her healing magic filtered into the hole, and Homura was back out in a few seconds.

"He's tough," Sayaka said. "Real tough."

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Homura said.

Mami swung down to meet them, looking grim.

"This is bad," she said shortly.

Homura nodded, glancing up to see how the fight was going. Vegeta had already been flung backwards, and Frieza was going after Krillin again. Kyoko surged in front of him, aiming her spear right at Frieza's stomach. Frieza side-stepped and smashed his fist against Kyoko's head. She hesitated for a moment, obviously dizzy, and Vegeta returned to pound Frieza again.

"He barely takes any damage, and we have so many fighters," Homura said. "I thought maybe we could handle him with strength in numbers, but..."

Mami shook her head.

"He's too strong," she agreed. "And he's not even the reason we're here."

Homura felt her stomach clench.

"Why _are_ you here?" she asked. "I know this isn't the time, but what's going on? Neyru told him I'm here to fight some...shadow, but I don't even know what it is! What could possibly be more of a threat than Frieza right now?"

Mami seemed about to answer. But then a cry sounded across the battlefield, and all three heads whipped up to find the source. Kyoko had dropped from the sky and hit the ground, Krillin surging down after her. And Frieza was going straight for Gohan –

The air crackled, and suddenly, something new entered the battlefield. Even Frieza seemed surprised as the green shape barreled into him. Frieza stumbled back a few feet and paused, long enough for everyone to catch a glimpse of their new ally.

Homura's eyes widened. A Namekian? But she had thought they were all killed!

"Piccolo!" Gohan said, his voice brightening. "Piccolo, you saved me!"

"Save it for later, Gohan," the Namekian called Piccolo growled.

He shrugged off his cape and turban, and both hit the ground with a strangely heavy thud. Then he zoomed at Frieza at a blinding speed. To Homura's shock, this new Namekian was actually keeping pace with Frieza! In his second form!

"Where the hell did he get stronger?" Vegeta said, and Homura was surprised to find the Saiyan prince nearby.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I'm talking about the fact that the Namek can suddenly keep pace with Frieza!" Vegeta snapped. "He couldn't even handle my underling last time I saw him!"

Homura shook her head. At this point, she didn't care about Vegeta's acid tongue. They needed all the help they could get, no matter where it came from.

Then it hit her. They were missing someone – someone that could potentially save all of their lives.

"Sayaka!" she said, whipping around to face her. "Sayaka, I need you to go to Frieza's ship, right now!"

"Huh? Why?" Sayaka asked.

"Goku! He's still healing in that pod, and we don't know how long it will take! I need you to go back and heal him, right now! He might be able to stop Frieza!"

Sayaka's eyes lit up.

"Right! Why didn't I think of that? I'll be back as soon as I can!"

Then the blue Puella Magi whipped around and took off.

But they were to have no such luck. Above them, Frieza suddenly paused in his fight. In a blur of speed, he appeared right in front of Sayaka.

"Going somewhere?" he said. "I don't believe I gave anyone the permission to run in fear yet."

"Get out of my way!" Sayaka shouted.

"Hm, how about, no?"

And he whipped around to strike Sayaka with his tail. The blue haired girl was flung over forty feet away, hitting a mesa. Mami fired at Frieza, but he was already gone. And then he was back, with his tail wrapped around Sayaka's throat and holding her off the ground.

"So," Frieza said. "You're all giving me a lot more trouble than I thought you were going to."

A cruel smile twisted his face, and his grip on Sayaka's neck tightened. Sayaka's eyes bulged.

"Put her down," Homura snapped.

"In a moment. Once I've taken my third form."

And then his body began to warp unnaturally again. This time, Homura was certain she was going to throw up. Vegeta swore loudly, surging at Frieza.

"Vegeta, wait!" Mami shouted.

"We have to stop him before he transforms –" Vegeta shouted back.

But then it was obvious why Mami had told him to hold back. The air exploded. Vegeta hit the ground with a crack. Homura started forward, but the ground exploded under her foot. She screamed as shrapnel flew all around her. Something punched through Mami's shoulder, spinning her around. Another explosion went off above Gohan. Piccolo rushed to catch him, but no sooner had the boy fallen into his arms than something punched a hole through his knee.

Homura struggled to her feet. What was this? Where was it coming form? Frieza was still transforming, what was attacking them?

A gun barrel appeared in front of her face.

And then she knew their attacker.

It didn't take Vegeta long to figure out what was going on. This had happened before, when Homura attacked him – but why was Homura attacking them? It didn't make sense. It made even less sense when Homura took a step forward and things exploded around her, too. There was no reason for her to attack herself.

Either way, he had to grab hold of the attacker so that they couldn't freeze time anymore – whether it was Homura or not was up to debate, but he couldn't think of anyone else with the ability to freeze time. He caught a glimpse of her, then – the girl in the long purple dress with the glittering wings. She was standing – in front of Homura?

Vegeta didn't bother questioning himself. That had never helped before. He simply acted. He pushed himself forward and tackled the girl in the purple dress. She fell with a startled cry. He managed to grab her wrists before she could twist the gun on him, and forced her to let go of the weapon. Then he was staring into Homura's tear-filled eyes – while Homura pushed herself up behind him.

"What the hell is this, Homura?" Vegeta hissed, not sure which one he was talking to. "What the hell did you do?"

Fire rained down from the sky on top of him. He jerked away, and the other Homura vanished. He whipped around to face Homura. Her mouth was hanging open, her eyes wide.

"What..." she said.

"You tell me," Vegeta snapped.

And then energy burned through the air, and they whipped around. Vegeta swore. Frieza had finished his third transformation. This one was even more repulsive than before – he was shorter and hunched, with an elongated head and strangely protruding shoulders. He flung his blue haired hostage to the ground, leaving her to gasp for breath.

"Well, what does everyone think? Oh, don't stare, that's not polite at all," Frieza said, mockingly.

Vegeta swore again. He could feel the difference in power – and no matter how much he wanted to deny it, he wasn't sure if he stood a chance. He glanced at Homura, wondering what she was thinking.

But her eyes were not on Frieza.

Shocked, Vegeta followed her eyes. Shadowy figures had appeared on the plateaus around them. To his left, he could see a girl on horse-back, her red ponytail ablaze. Funny, she looked a lot like that Kyoko girl. To his right, the armored girl and the tea party girl he and Homura had fought before. Come to think of it, they looked rather like the blue-haired girl and the blonde who had joined the battle just a few minutes ago. And directly in front of them, the girl in the purple dress and black butterfly wings hovered, a gun in each hand and tears in the corners of her eyes.

Frieza seemed to notice that the attention was not on him, and it seemed to annoy him. He glanced upwards and around at the beings on the plateaus. His irritated face changed into one of – what? Amusement? Vegeta couldn't place it.

"Well, how interesting," Frieza said, in his new, strangely hissing voice. "Didn't expect to be seeing them today."

"You know these apparitions?" Homura demanded, shock in her voice.

"A few of them. The fire girl and the butterfly wings are new ones," Frieza said with a laugh. "Why? Do you know them?"

Homura tensed.

"Why...why do you know who they are?"

"Who they are? I don't know that, don't much care, either. I don't know much about them, really. Strange little scavengers, that's all I know about them. I usually see them towards the end of a planet war – it's amazing, really. As soon as they appear, morale starts to disappear in my opponents. They never interfere with me, though."

Homura's face was one of pure shock.

"It makes sense," the blonde said – Mami, wasn't it? "Doesn't it, Homura? The shadow is taking planets, but it can't do it by itself. So it follows Frieza, one who causes despair on which to feed."

Homura's hands were shaking, Vegeta realized. What was wrong with her?

Frieza's annoyance returned.

"Well, I don't have time to discuss things with you," he said. "I think it's about time someone died around here."

Energy exploded from his hand. Piccolo didn't have time to dodge. He flung Gohan away from him and took the full brunt of the blow.

"Piccolo!" Gohan screamed.

At the same time, the girl with fiery hair leapt off the plateau. A spear in hand, it charged Kyoko. Kyoko knocked the other's spear out of the way, bracing herself for another rush. The pseudo-Homura vanished, and things started exploding again. Except Homura seemed to expect this. She shot the other Homura from the sky, and instantly, both started flickering in and out of sight.

The witch in armor and the blonde witch descended from the plateaus. Vegeta felt rather than saw the ribbons coming for him. He dodged easily and struck out. The armored witch dodged his attack and came after him. But then Mami was there, firing rounds of muskets into the midst of the two girls.

"What is this?" Vegeta said, angrily. "Why are these creatures here?"

"Because this is the last stand," Mami said, deadly serious. "This is our last chance to push them back, and their one shot at encompassing the universe. Namek is a turning point – whoever wins it, wins everything."

"But –" Vegeta snapped.

Mami's strange yellow eyes caught his, and the gaze held for a moment. Without taking her eyes away from him, she raised her gun and shot both advancing witches. It held them back for only a few moments, but it was long enough to hear Mami's next words.

"This was never just a battle against Frieza," Mami said. "This is war, Vegeta. A war between the Puella Magi and the Witches. A war with ourselves, as it were."

Her eyes flickered to where Homura fought her other self.

"But mostly, it's Homura's war," Mami said. "The fate of the universe...is on the outcome of the battle between Homura and Homulilly..."

Vegeta flicked his gaze to Homura. Then he swore under his breath, and landed a solid fist in the blonde witch's face.


	25. You Should Be a Magical Girl

When Homura had first arrived on the barren planet of Namek, her fights had been scattered and small. She had imagined that it would continue that way – there weren't enough beings on this planet for more than a few, one-to-one person skirmishes. She was used to that. After all, she clearly remembered fighting witches, alone, because fighting in groups was not advisable back in the old days.

She certainly hadn't expected to be on a battlefield.

Homura hit the ground as a missile zoomed over her head. It exploded into a mesa almost a mile away, and Homura could still hear it strike. But she was already on her feet by the time the explosion echoed across the wastelands, firing off bolt after bolt from her bow. Homulilly flickered out of existence, dodging each bolt with ease. Homura swore under her breath and froze time again, this time aiming surely for Homulilly. But the bolts seemed to dissolve before they reached her. The witch was already flinging grenades into Homura's face, forcing the Puella Magi to freeze time again. Her chest was starting to hurt, the way it did when she manipulated time far too often in a short period of time.

Homulilly, however, never seemed to slow. No sooner had Homura hit the ground in real time than Homulilly had appeared in front of her with a machine gun. Another anti-aircraft gun appeared on a mesa. Homura swore again – how could her own witch self be so much more powerful? She didn't understand. Even she could never control this many weapons at once; how could she improve her skills so drastically by becoming a witch?

Then Homura's thoughts had to stop in their tracks, because Homulilly was engaging her again.

Homura batted the bullets aside with deft strikes of her bow. She flipped over another anti-aircraft missile, flipped around to aim her bow in Homulilly's direction –

The air exploded behind her. With a cry, she plummeted to the ground. The impact jarred her. It took a moment to regain her senses – by that time, Homulilly was in front of her, a gun barrel to Homura's forehead.

Homura didn't think. She grabbed Homulilly's hand and tried to wrestle the weapon away from her. The bullet struck her shoulder instead, but she barely felt it. Homulilly struggled to escape Homura's grip – no, she couldn't let her freeze time again! They grappled for a few moments. Finally, Homura managed to push Homulilly to the ground.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "You're me, aren't you? Why are you attacking me?"

Homulilly shook her head wildly. She struggled against Homura, but was unable to unseat her.

"Can you even speak to me?" Homura said, feeling strangely desperate. It was as though the presence of her witch made her emotions that much harder to control. "Why are you fighting me?"

"I have to save her," Homulilly whispered.

"Save who? Madoka? Madoka doesn't need our protection anymore."

"You're wrong!" Homulilly shrieked. "You're trying to kill her! She said so!"

"_What?_" Homura said.

The words shocked her to the bone. Her, trying to kill Madoka? And Madoka – Madoka had said that? That couldn't be possible! There had to be some kind of mistake! Her grip loosened, and Homulilly thrust her off. Homura managed to roll back to her feet, but the shock had done its work. She couldn't count the number of bullets that ripped through her, and despite the instant dulling of the pain, a gasp escaped her. She was lucky that her Soul Gem had been missed.

She staggered to her knees. Homulilly was already drawing another handgun – and the barrel was leveled right at the back of Homura's hand. Her Soul Gem.

Homura barely had time to process what was happening. She certainly didn't have time to dodge, or even freeze time. She would have died right then and there.

Except for the wild card called Vegeta.

The Saiyan prince barreled into Homulilly. The bullet went astray, zooming off into the sky.

"I think I still have a score to settle with you, fake Homura," Vegeta growled.

His fist connected with the girl's jaw and sent her flying. Homura struggled back to her feet. Vegeta's dark eyes glared at her.

"You're even more useless than before," he said. "I thought you said you knew how to fight witches."

"I do," she said breathlessly. "It's another thing entirely when the enemy is yourself."

Vegeta snorted, telling her exactly what he thought about that kind of nonsense.

"I have no idea what's going on," he growled. "But I don't think I like it."

"Where's Frieza?" Homura interrupted.

"Beating up small fry," Vegeta said. "I didn't think things were going to get this complicated. This is your fault, you know."

Homura decided to ignore him. Homulilly was probably already recovered, and she shouldn't have gotten so distracted. Speaking of distractions, suddenly Oktavia appeared, slashing down at Vegeta. Vegeta caught the blade. He thrust her back, throwing her off balance. But her expression never changed – for a brief moment, Homura wondered why she was fighting. Homulilly had her own, twisted idea of a reason – but Oktavia? The witch of Sayaka that Homura had known had been fairly content with hiding away in its barrier, listening to her ghostly orchestra of stringed instruments. The personality of her witch was that of a broken lover – she had no reason to fight, unless something disturbed her in her barrier.

Homura shook her head. She couldn't believe she was trying to analyze witches now, of all times.

The blue haired witch thrust forward again, her blows for some reason aimed for Vegeta, and Vegeta alone. Vegeta blocked the sword blows easily, as though they were more annoyance than danger.

Then Sayaka appeared, attacking Oktavia from above. She thrust her own witch away from Vegeta.

"I know what you're doing," she said to Oktavia. "But it's too late now! It's already done!"

And with that cryptic statement, Sayaka was surging to meet her own witch. Homura swore under her breath – Sayaka should be going to get Goku! She shouldn't be wasting time!

As if on cue, the world exploded around her. She froze time and escaped before the damage got too bad. Homulilly was frozen above her, and Homura fired several bolts of her bow at her. Once time restarted, the bolts dissolved before reaching Homulilly. Homura swore. Why couldn't she reach her?

Then Vegeta was there again, firing blasts of energy at the charging Homulilly.

"She's persistent, I'll give her that," Vegeta said. His dark eyes flicked up to where Piccolo was attempting to match with Frieza's third form. "I could say the same for him."

"He's going to die," Homura said, a sudden shock going through her. "He can't match Frieza! Why are you helping me, you're the only one that has the best shot at defeating Frieza right now!"

Vegeta seemed pleased at that, but didn't look ready to move at the moment.

"I'm waiting for Frieza to wear himself down," he said. "Then I can kill him."

Homura looked up at Piccolo. The alien had just taken an energy blast to the face, and he looked like his heart might give out at any second. Then she sent a glare at Vegeta.

"You never fail at being infuriating," she said.

Although she had intended to rush to Piccolo's rescue, Homulilly reappeared at that moment. She thrust herself to the left, and the ground was riddled with bullet holes where she had been a moment before. Homura whipped around in time to send a flurry of bolts at Homulilly. Again, the arrows didn't reach her. She was doing something wrong – what was she doing wrong?

Her head spun with the shrieks and sounds of clashes all around her. She couldn't think clearly enough to figure it out – if she had a few seconds of quiet, she felt that she could figure it out! She knew it was on the tip of her mind, the reason why she couldn't strike Homulilly – but it wouldn't come.

Homulilly pointed a machine gun at Homura. Homura whipped her bow up to fire –

Both fired at the same time, but Homura could never have expected what was going to happen next. Suddenly, Vegeta was in between them, taking both the bullets and the arrow bolts. A dark grin sprouted on his face as he dropped to one knee. He clutched at his stomach, but the grin didn't change. Homura froze. Had – had Vegeta gone mad? Was he trying to kill himself?

"What are you doing?" she shouted.

But despite his wounds, he was already running at Homulilly again. He didn't even try to block the attacks – he just took them. Even Homulilly seemed surprised, enough to pause after a few moments of firing. Vegeta dropped to one knee again, his breaths obviously labored. Homura snapped out of it. Her bow wasn't working, so she went for a handgun. As Homulilly aimed her own gun at Vegeta's head, Homura squeezed off her shots.

They struck Homulilly in the shoulders, causing her to freeze time and retreat. Homura ran to Vegeta, where he was still gasping for breath.

"What are you doing?" she half screamed. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"As close as possible," Vegeta said with a grin. "That was easier than I thought it was going to be."

"Are you crazy?" Homura said. "What is wrong with you?"

Vegeta's hand shot out and grabbed Homura by the collar. It stilled her shrieks.

"Listen to me, and stop your pathetic whining," Vegeta said. "When a Saiyan recovers from near death, their power increases exponentially. Now go get one of the healers, because I'm about to become powerful enough to kill Frieza."

Homura barely understood the words, but Vegeta's gaze was so intense that she could do nothing but nod. She froze time where she was. She whipped around to survey the frozen battle.

Piccolo lay on the ground beside a mesa, Dende frozen in the act of healing. In the sky, Gohan's energy beam was frozen halfway to Frieza. It was huge, and even blinding in frozen time. Kyoko was still engaged with Ophelia, although she seemed to have managed to unseat her from her horse, which was bolting towards a mesa. Mami stood on a mountain, surrounded by muskets and aiming a pair at Oktavia and Candeloro somewhere below. Sayaka was frozen midstride. Homura almost ran to her, but realize that the blue-haired Puella Magi was headed for Frieza's ship and Goku. She couldn't distract Sayaka from bringing Goku – he was really their only hope.

There was only one other option.

Where was Neyru?

Homura looked around wildly, running back and forth, finding her grip on time starting to slip in her frantic state of mind.

She finally found the small alien child nearby Dende and Piccolo, looking into the sky as though keeping watch while Dende healed. Homura grabbed the alien by the arm and Neyru came unfrozen.

"Homura?"

"Neyru, I need you to come with me now!"

Neyru didn't question her. She half dragged the child through frozen time to where she had left Vegeta. She could see Homulilly somewhere behind him with a machine gun, and before she unfroze time, she flung a grenade in her direction.

Time restarted, the grenade exploded, and Gohan's blinding attack struck Frieza. But Homura couldn't think straight.

"Took you long enough," Vegeta said.

Homura had the overwhelming urge to smack him, but ignored it. She turned to Neyru, but Neyru was – shaking his head.

"I can't," the alien said. "I can't heal him, Homura – he tried to kill us! He would have, too!"

"Neyru, _please_," Homura said. "You have to heal him! He's going to die!"

Neyru's eyes were watery. His head shook harder. Homura's heart fluttered, and for a moment she could see Vegeta falling limply into the lake again, as Zarbon hovered far ahead. She couldn't understand it – Vegeta had never been kind to her, never given her any reason to think of him as more than a necessary ally, a necessary evil – but she did not want to see him die.

"Neyru," she whispered. "Please."

Neyru looked through her, his clouded eyes still watery. But the child gave in.

"Okay," Neyru whispered. "But just because you're asking."

Spreading tiny hands outward, the healing began. A strange weight lifted off of Homura's breast. It hit her then.

_He's a friend_, she thought. _I consider him a friend, now. And...and I don't want him to die._

The second the healing was over, Vegeta surged to his feet. The energy he emitted seemed suddenly denser. Heavier.

Homulilly surged forward. He barely even looked at her, thrusting a palm in her direction. The energy was invisible, thrusting her back and causing her to crash into a mesa. Homura could only stare – he really had gotten a power boost!

"Now that's more like it," Vegeta said, grinning.

For a brief moment, Homura felt like she could breathe again.

But then something strange happened.

The witches retreated.


	26. Evil Soul

Goku drifted in and out of sleep. The healing pod was doing something to him that made him really, really tired. It was hard to open his eyes, especially since every time he did he was looking through water. It was much easier to just succumb and sleep while he repaired himself.

Sometime earlier, he had spoken with King Kai. The fight was raging, the Kami said. They needed Goku now. Goku chafed at the pace of his healing. His friends, his son, they needed him right now! Why couldn't he fight past the grogginess of the healing pod and go to help? Even half-healed, he wanted to fight!

But there were something he couldn't fight, and the sleep drug was one of them. He drifted back into an uneasy sleep again.

But this time...this time was different. He looked around him. Was this a dream? He wasn't in the healing pod anymore. This place...what was this place?

The sky shone blue above him, and long, rolling fields stretched out before him. Flowers of various colors, more than he had imagined possible, sprouted among the tall green grasses. Somewhere in the distance he could see a forest, and beyond that, the pearly towers of what might be a city. This had to be a dream.

"Goku...?"

The voice was soft – somehow familiar. He turned around, for some reason not worried at all.

For some reason the owner of the voice was not entirely in focus. Almost like she was surrounded in fog or something. But he could see her long, billowing white dress, and he got the impression of soft, amber colored eyes.

"Oh!" Goku said. "It's you! I heard your voice on the ship, on the way here! You told me what to say to Homura."

The girl nodded.

"I hoped you would remember," she said kindly.

"So, is this a dream?" Goku said.

"I guess so. Sort of."

"Huh."

The girl paused for a brief moment.

"Goku. I have...something to give you. Something important."

"Huh? Me? What for?"

"Just trust me, okay?"

Goku nodded. The girl came right up to him for a moment. She had to stand on tip toe to reach his ear. He couldn't be sure if he heard the whisper or not, but something felt strange in his chest for a moment.

Then the dream had vanished completely, and he was opening his eyes. He wasn't in the healing pod anymore.

"Hey!" said the cheery voice of Sayaka. "It's about time. Ready to go?"

Everyone hesitated as an eerie silence fell over the battlefield. Homura looked around warily.

What...was going on?

The witches had retreated to a faraway mesa. Ophelia had managed to regain her horse, and so sat the tallest of all of them. A strange look of unease had settled across Candeloro's normally smiling expression. Even Oktavia was looking down at the ground, like she didn't want to look at anything.

But Homulilly...her eyes shone with absolute joy.

Homura didn't have time to interpret their expressions, because amidst the silence came an even stranger sensation. It was...if she had to describe it, it was as though darkness had a smell, that was wafting around them and tightening. A strange, smoky fog had arisen from the ground somewhere, and she wondered what had happened. She had been so busy with her own fight that she hadn't had the time to check on anyone else.

Without warning, two sharp beams of light exploded from the midst of the fog. Homura didn't even have a second to breathe before the beams had disappeared. And then she heard Kyoko's shriek of rage.

"YOU BASTARD!"

She flung herself into the mists – and was flung back instantly. She crashed into a wall and crumpled to the ground. By that time, the mist had cleared, and Homura could see _him_. Frieza had reached his final form.

And Dende and Neyru were dead.

Homura's chest froze up. She was staring at the dead body of Madoka again, her small, broken frame on the ground –

Vegeta smacked her on the shoulder and she shook out of her frozen state. But – Neyru and Dende were still dead, their tiny little bodies singed and crumpled, and she felt like throwing up. Tears sprang to her eyes.

Frieza's level, red eyes scanned the plain.

"Well," he said. "My little shadows seem to be done fighting."

He cracked his neck.

"No matter. I'll kill you all myself."

He raised his pinky finger and fired. Homura barely saw it – didn't even feel it. But suddenly, Vegeta was moving, and his hand cracked against Gohan's back, and the beam was flying harmlessly over Gohan's head.

Homura could only stare.

"You – how could you see that?" she whispered. "And...and you saved Gohan. Why?"

He grinned.

"I guess I must be a Super Saiyan," he said, that arrogant grin that she remembered so well finally returning to his features. "As for the runt...well, why not?"

Homura had no idea what a Super Saiyan was, but for some reason, she started to dare to hope. Frieza snorted.

"Oh please, Vegeta," he said. "You saw one small attack, and you think you have me beat?"

"Laugh all you want, Frieza, but has it occurred to you that I've become the one thing you feared?" Vegeta said. "The Super Saiyan."

"Nothing more than a legend passed around by stupid monkeys."

"Then why did you blow up my planet? Because you were afraid the legend might come true!"

Homura glanced around. Why...why did it feel like the tension hadn't broken yet? That scent, like the smell of shadows...it was still there. And it didn't seem like it was coming from Frieza. No, something else was happening. It was like the air was feeding off of something. Off of what? She couldn't figure it out. There seemed to be a lot of things that she couldn't figure out, and she felt like if she didn't solve them soon, something terrible would happen.

Her thoughts were forgotten as Vegeta rushed Frieza. The alien warrior vanished as Vegeta attempted to strike him. Vegeta whipped around in time to see Frieza reappear. He punched out, but Frieza merely leaned to the side and Vegeta's hand connected with rock instead. The blur of the punches and dodging was too quick for Homura to follow. She couldn't tell if Vegeta actually had the upper hand or if Frieza was merely toying with him.

Either way, Frieza was distracted right now. Homura turned away from the fight and ran to where Kyoko had collapsed. The red-head was stirring as Homura arrived. Her red eyes cracked open.

"Damn," she said. "Get the number of the truck that hit me?"

"You shouldn't have rushed Frieza so recklessly," Homura admonished her.

She extended a hand, and Kyoko took it gratefully.

"Got a little reckless, I guess," Kyoko said. "You know, being technically dead and all, I guess I got overconfident."

Homura helped Kyoko to her feet, and then looked at her curiously.

"You are dead, then," Homura said. "But you're here."

"Let's just say if I die again, I go back where I came from, and I can't help out anymore," Kyoko said. "I ain't immortal, at least. What's Vegeta doing?"

"Fighting Frieza, I presume," Homura said. "The witches...what are they doing?"

Kyoko looked up and around. Then her red eyes met Homura's violet ones, and the apprehension there worried Homura.

"Let's...let's worry about Frieza right now," Kyoko said. "And as for Vegeta – we'd better get him out of there. Right now. Or bad stuff is going to happen."

"Vegeta will kill us if we try and stop him."

"If we don't, he'll be the reason we all die. Permanently," Kyoko said.

Homura didn't understand, but there was an edge to Kyoko's voice that worried her. She turned back to face Vegeta and Frieza's fight.

Vegeta was in the air now, gathering energy around him in white lightning bolts. Frieza watched disinterestedly, even as the energy beam surged towards him. The island he stood on exploded, but the alien warrior was already in the air. Vegeta filled the air with golden beams, always a few seconds behind Frieza's trajectory.

Kyoko grabbed Homura's shoulder.

"He's getting desperate, Homura!" Kyoko said.

"I can see that," Homura said.

Usually, the Saiyan prince would have calculated the flight through the air and fired a few feet in front of Frieza, rather than attempting to hit a moving target in that wild manner. He was starting to break. His arrogance and confidence had been so strong before – Homura had though they might have a chance, but it looked like...

Frieza's power was so much more than they could have possibly imagined.

Homura wondered again why she was here. She couldn't stand against Frieza. No one could. And what could be worse than Frieza, as the other Puella Magi seemed to be worried about? What was she missing that they weren't?

Vegeta's barrage of energy ended as Frieza reappeared right in front of him – he was so fast! Even from here, Homura could see his rage and frustration growing. The Saiyan warrior burst into the sky. She could feel the air heating up with the strength of his final, ending blow –

Kyoko was shaking her, shouting something, but the buzz in the air was too great. Homura only caught a few pieces.

"_Stop him – last chance – he gives – she'll come! –"_

Then Homura saw Mami whipping around from far away, finding Homura's eyes. There was fear there.

And then the blast came down, the air split in two – and Frieza kicked the attack back as easily as one might kick a soccer ball. Something in Homura broke.

And it looked like the same could be said for Vegeta.

The Saiyan prince could do little more than stare. Even from here, Homura could see his hands loosening, the tenseness draining from his body. And Frieza continued to stand there, unperturbed, with a small, malicious smile on his face.

However, it was Kyoko's expression that was the worst. She stared with such terror that it nearly made Homura break down and cry right there.

"Damn...it," Kyoko whispered.

"What? What's wrong?" Homura said. Her voice cracked and trembled, but she couldn't stop it.

"He...he gave up," she said. "Dammit, Vegeta...dammit..."

Homura looked up. It was true. Vegeta just hung there in the sky. She couldn't quite see his expression from here, but his body language was clear enough. The Prince of all Saiyans had given up hope.

For a second, something seemed to crack in the air. That terrible, shadowy scent got thicker. Homura felt sick – could no one else smell that?

Frieza shot through the air. His hand cracked across Vegeta's head. The Saiyan prince hurtled towards the water. But Frieza didn't let him get that far. The alien warlord shot after him, kicked him across the side and sent him right back into the air again. No sooner had that happened than he was flying towards Vegeta again. His elbow cracked across the man's jaw and sent him crashing towards the ground.

It was like the whole world was frozen. Gohan, Piccolo, Krillin, even Mami and Kyoko, even herself, they could do nothing but stand there and stare as Frieza came slowly down to land next to the broken Saiyan. It felt like something was being drained out of her – the will to live. The will to move. The will for anything.

The air felt like Frieza had won.

Frieza's tail wrapped around Vegeta's throat and pulled him off the ground. Vegeta didn't even try to fight. He hung there limply. He had truly given up. It was like there was no reason to try anymore.

And then Homura snapped.

Time froze, more easily than she could have possibly imagined. She reappeared beside Frieza, and the bolt of her arrow pierced through his tail. Red eyes widened in shock. The tail reflexively let go of Vegeta. In an instant, she had grabbed hold of him, frozen time, and reappeared with him at a safe distance.

Vegeta's eyes cracked open.

"Dammit, Homura," he muttered. "Meddling...to the end..."

"Be quiet," Homura said. "I just saved your life."

"Heh...for how long?"

Homura considered him for a moment. A broken warrior, given up his will to fight. It was like his surrender had changed the world somehow. It hurt her, more than she could have imagined.

"You know, Vegeta," she said. "You may not think so. But I'm glad I met you."

Vegeta snorted, but that caused him to cough, and blood came with it.

"Getting...sentimental now...are we?"

Homura closed her eyes.

"I guess so," she said, softly. "But...I don't regret it. Any of it. Thank you, Vegeta...I think meeting you opened me up to something new...and I don't regret a moment of it."

Frieza appeared in front of them. His eyes were cold and dangerous.

"Well, well, well," he said, a hint of irritation in his voice. "So eager to die, are you? I was going to come after you after I was finished with him."

"Looks like you'll have to kill me first, then," Homura said.

She froze time in order to place herself between Vegeta and Frieza. Something had happened when Vegeta gave up. She was sure of it. There seemed, suddenly, to be no point to trying anymore.

But she had thought that long ago, in her eternal loop, and Madoka had appeared to save her. Who knows, she thought bleakly. Maybe...it will happen again. But either way...she would die putting herself in between danger...and a friend.

Time unfroze, and she faced Frieza full on now. His red eyes sparked with a malicious glee. He raised his index finger, and energy sparked there.

How funny, she thought. This adventure started much the same way. But this time...this time, she would not be dodging.

Then something in the air changed. A familiar face came into view – Sayaka!

"Sorry," she said breathlessly. "That took too long, huh?"

Frieza turned, curious and irritated.

And Goku was there to meet his gaze.

"Goku," Homura whispered.

It was more than a prayer. It was the answer to one.


	27. Uncertainty

In that moment, Homura took back every terrible thought she had ever had about Sayaka. Not only had she managed to bring Goku here, but she healed Vegeta without even waiting to be asked.

"Sorry I wasn't here sooner," she said softly when she came to stand by Homura.

Homura shook her head. There was no space in her trembling frame for words. She had just looked death in the face, and she wasn't keen on doing it again.

Frieza was distracted from his task of killing Homura as he turned to face Goku. The Saiyan man's face was hard, focused. It was not the easy confidence from when he faced the Ginyu Force. This was the tense expectancy of one ready for war. Homura had never been happier to see anyone at this moment.

"And...who are you?" Frieza asked.

"My name is Son Goku," Goku said.

"Another little monkey, is it?" Frieza said, looking more irritated than ever.

Homura's attention was drawn away as Mami and Kyoko also came to her side.

"The damage has already been done," Mami said.

"What damage?" Homura asked.

Mami shook her head.

"We...we had hoped to avoid this altogether. But we weren't fast enough..."

Her eyes wandered over to Vegeta, who was picking himself up. His dark eyes met hers with a fierce glare.

"Fast enough for what?" he said.

"Fast enough to stop you from fighting Frieza," she said simply.

"And what the hell would that have changed?"

Homura wanted to know the answer to that question too. The three Puella Magi exchanged glances.

"Well...it would have stopped you from realizing that you couldn't defeat him," Sayaka said.

Vegeta looked like he wanted to punch her in the face. His fists trembled.

"Oh, really? That whole time, you thought I couldn't handle it? Is that it?"

"The point is you despaired for a moment," Mami snapped, her voice harsh. "And do you know what happened when you despaired? _That door opened._"

Vegeta blinked. Homura's surprised was mirrored on the Saiyan's face. Slowly, both turned to look at the mesa where the witches had gathered, where Mami's hand pointed.

The scent of shadows was overpowering. Homura could barely think. There, on the mesa, it was like all the darkness in the world had converged. The sky above that point looked dark, twisted, unnatural. Something was wrong. It was like thick, black spiderwebs were converging on a singular point in the midst of the witches. They parted around that point, some looking into the darkness, some looking pointedly away.

"She could never come out fully before," Mami whispered.

"She needed a really big push to come onto this plane of existence..." Sayaka said.

Her head trembled on her sword. Mami's shoulders were tense. Even Kyoko looked uneasy. Homura turned to face them, her fists clenched.

"What?" she said. "What is going on? Why won't you tell me? What am I missing?"

Mami was the only one who would meet her eyes.

"There are four doors, Homura," she said. "One for us, that only you could open. One for the the witches, which can only be opened by despair. One for Madoka, that only a single person can manage to open. And one for...her...that only one person can open..."

And then, suddenly, like a ton of bricks, it dawned on Homura.

"Oh...oh my god," she said. She took a step back. Shivers overtook her. "I – oh my god, it is worse than Frieza."

Mami's expression said it all.

"Yes," she said. "Much worse..."

"What?" Vegeta snapped.

But then he knew too. Because, from the shadows, an eerily familiar shape appeared.

White stockings. Red shoes. Puffy skirt. Pink pigtails. Homura might have thought...except, where the Soul Gem should be was a Grief Seed. And where the kind, pink eyes should have been smiling at her were a pair of blank white eyes.

Without warning, she was in front of Homura. Homura scrambled back, a primal fear rushing through her. The face smiled at her, but it was empty without the eyes Homura remembered so well.

"Hello, Homura-chan," the girl that was and was not Madoka said. "Have you...missed me?"

"_It's no accident that Homura-chan met Vegeta-kun."_

_She wasn't really talking to anyone, but it seemed like the whole world was listening._

"_Vegeta-kun was always the last gate. For her, anyway. That was why he could break through witch barriers. Because he was the key to the darkness. He collects and causes so much darkness, and yet, still harbors the possibility of good.. And so his soul became the last key to the darkness, being made of it. The moment he lost hope...the door would open. But he was strong. He always thought he could win. He never broke._

"_Until now."_

_She was silent. A soft breeze picked up her unnaturally long hair._

"_But...his key can work both ways," she said softly. "And...there's one more key to be used..."_

Homura could barely stand for the trembling. This girl in front of her – so familiar, so terrifying – made her want to give up and keel over right now.

The shadow. This was the shadow. Kriemhild Gretchen – the other half of Madoka. How was it possible for her to be here? She shouldn't form until the end of time! Homura couldn't wrap her head around the logistics of it – it was even harder because of the fear that tightened around her as Gretchen grew ever closer.

"Homura-chan?" Gretchen said, cocking her head. "What's wrong, Homura-chan?"

No one could move. It was like her very presence corrupted the air and made limbs into stone. Even Vegeta was unmoving beside her.

Gretchen slowly, slowly raised a gloved hand to Homura.

"Do you...want to come to heaven with me?" she asked.

The air changed ever so slightly. Homura blinked. She felt dizzy. A buzzing filled her head. She was looking at Madoka, who was smiling, and holding her hand out to her. What was she afraid of? Madoka was here to take her home, finally! A smile started to grow on Homura's face. She took a step forward. Her hand reached upwards slightly, towards the hand...

She didn't see the black threads starting to grow around her. She didn't see them thicken, starting to close up around her, sealing her away from everyone else so that it was only her and Gretchen...

Two things happened. One, a hand shot out and grabbed her by the shoulder, yanking her roughly back. And two, the tension broke, and suddenly, it was easier to breathe. Homura gasped for air, the spell broken on her mind. She awoke fully to find herself on her knees, staring at the ground. When she looked up, Vegeta was glaring at her, and Goku was sending Gretchen stumbling back with a few invisible energy pushes.

Gretchen's eyes widened in surprise. She nearly fell over, but Homulilly streaked to her side and caught her. Homura's mouth was dry and scratchy. She trembled even harder, suddenly realizing just how close to dying she had come – and she probably wouldn't have gone to Madoka that time.

"You're an idiot," Vegeta snapped at her.

"I didn't see you fighting her either," Homura said.

"At least I'm not trembling like a little girl on the ground."

Homura didn't have the energy to glare at him. She tried to get back her feet and nearly fell over. Mami stepped over to support her. Homura nodded her thanks.

"This is...bad," she said.

Mami shook her head. Her eyes were alight with – hope?

"I thought so too," she said. "But Homura-chan, look! Goku isn't affected by her!"

Homura's head snapped up. Goku stood in front of Gretchen easily, looking even somewhat confused. The black threads that Homura had started to associate with Gretchen formed around him, but they couldn't seem to get close. There was an aura of...lightness around him. Not something that Homura could see, but something that she could feel intensely.

"Hey," Goku said to Gretchen. "No offense, but you're kind of distracting me. I'm trying to fight Frieza."

Gretchen started him, as though not understanding. Goku blinked at her a few times. Then Frieza fired a beam at Goku, and he deflected it without looking at it.

Homura dared to hope.

Vegeta didn't really understand why, but he hated the very existence of that girl. It grated against him. He recognized her as the girl he had seen on the ship. She had made him so afraid that he couldn't even move – and that, more than anything, made his blood boil.

"Homura," he said through gritted teeth. "That wouldn't happen to be your precious Madoka, would it?"

Homura glanced at him. Her violet eyes were shaken, but hard.

"Yes...and no," she said. "In the same way that Homulilly is me."

Vegeta growled slightly under his breath. He hated this. It was all too complicated. It had been so much simpler when he could just kill whatever was in his way and be done with it.

"Then I hope you don't care," he said. "Because I'm going to destroy her."

Homura seemed about to protest, but Vegeta ignored her. He was tired of this – tired of having creatures stronger than him. Homura seemed terrified of the girl, but Vegeta was sick of being cautious. He shot past Goku and slammed into Gretchen, knocking her to the ground. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she vanished into shadows. She reappeared somewhere else, those black threads waving around her wildly.

"Vegeta?" Goku said.

Vegeta glared at him.

"Don't you have a battle of your own to attend to?" he growled. "I have a score to settle with this one."

Goku blinked at him. Then his lips twitched into what might have been a smile. He saluted Vegeta and turned on his heel to charge at Frieza. Vegeta didn't like leaving Frieza for that low-level warrior, but with two enemies to take down, it seemed to be beneficial to split up. It grated on his pride – but it seemed that now there was no time for that. He hated it.

So he would take it out on this girl that seemed to be the cause of all the troubles since he had gotten here.

He grinned viciously at her – he had just been healed from near death for perhaps the third time on this planet. His strength must be enormous by now.

"That idiot's going to get himself killed!" Kyoko said. "What is he thinking?"

"He's not," Homura said shortly. "Don't be so surprised, Kyoko. This isn't exactly out of the ordinary."

Homura's fists clenched. She could still feel the terror running through her. She had no idea how she could possibly stand up against the witch of Madoka, the girl that Homura had given up everything for, the being that could somehow span time and space with ease, the darkest part of the strongest force in the universe.

But it was not the time to let uncertainty take over her.

It was the time to fight. And with that thought in mind, she thrust forward to join Vegeta.


	28. Decision

For a few moments, Homura and the Puella Magi all faced Gretchen together. But somewhere in the confusion of explosions and fighting, her fellow magical girls had disappeared, drawn away by their witch selves into battle. It was only her and Vegeta now. Homura fired off several purple shots from far away. A few were swallowed up into the shadows that surrounded Gretchen, but one managed to strike her in the side.

She stumbled, a terrible, heart-wrenching emotion of confusion crossing her face. For a moment, Homura faltered. But then the black threads of Gretchen burst up around her, grabbing her arms and legs and yanking her into the air.

"Homura, why are you fighting me?" Gretchen cried. "I thought you wanted to protect me!"

Homura struggled uselessly against her bonds. Then Vegeta crashed into Gretchen, and that seemed to distract her enough for Homura to break free. She landed, froze time, and aimed another bolt.

But she couldn't fire it.

Time restarted, and she cringed as Vegeta's fist smashed into the side of Gretchen's head. Everything in her mind screamed at her to stop him – he was attacking Madoka! But no, this was not Madoka. This was a witch – why couldn't she fire her arrow?

Her fingers trembled. She couldn't help it – the girl looked exactly like the Madoka she had risked everything for, the girl that she had literally built her world around. There was no malice in the girl's eyes. She simply looked scared and confused as to why she was being attacked.

"Homura!" she cried again, as Vegeta pummeled her with energy beams.

That voice – exactly like Madoka's. Homura's hands shook so badly that she could barely hold her bow. But somewhere inside of her trembling self, beyond the confusion that made fighting Gretchen so difficult, a thought occurred to her.

Why was Vegeta fighting her so easily? She didn't even seem to be fighting back. She summoned no weapons, didn't even call her fellow witches to help her. Why wasn't she fighting? Why did Vegeta have such a clear upper hand? She was a timeless being, as old, constant, and presumably, as powerful as Madoka. So why weren't they having any trouble?

Homura squeezed her eyes shut as Gretchen cried out again. And she released the arrow.

She had no idea how she managed to hit her. She hadn't even been looking. But the bolt of energy flew true, and hit Gretchen directly in the Grief Seed.

The girl's eyes widened. She froze. She took one step forward. Then, in slow motion, she started to fall forward. For some reason, it seemed to echo, even though the Namek landscape was filled with the sounds of gunshots, clanging metal, and exploding energy. Homura dropped her bow, shaking even more than before. What...had that been it? Had she been terrified for nothing? All of this, all of the fighting on Namek, all of the increasing tension...and Gretchen had fallen so easily?

Vegeta glanced back at her, dark eyes searching. He seemed to be wondering the same thing.

Of course, Homura had never actually expected it to be this easy.

Gretchen's still form on the ground melted into a dark shadow. Then the shadow rose up and reformed itself, building itself back up in the image of Madoka again. The Grief Seed shone, untouched. But something was different, all of a sudden. Gretchen no longer had the confused look or the soft smile. Her blank eyes stared at nothing. There was something like sadness on her face.

"Why?" she asked. "Why are you trying to stop me?"

The question sounded so forlorn that Homura's heart nearly broke. It seemed to be directed at her, but it took her a moment to answer.

"You'll...you'll destroy everything," she finally said. "You don't realize it...but you will. I have to stop you now, before...before you consume the universe."

"Don't bother talking to her, Homura!" Vegeta snapped.

A tear formed in the corner of Gretchen's eye.

"Destroy everything?" she said. "I won't. I want to save everything. Don't you see, Homura? I'm going to bring everyone into heaven."

"You killed all of those Namekians," Homura said desperately. "You're a part of Madoka! Can't you see that you're hurting instead of saving?"

Gretchen's eyes widened.

"I didn't kill them," she said. "How could you think such a thing of me, Homura? I brought them to heaven. See?"

For a moment, her dress turned black. It expanded, becoming long and flowing, open at the front, so that underneath the folds could be seen. Homura jerked back in terror. Even Vegeta took a step back.

It was so horrible that Homura could barely describe it. She could see the universe, all of it, at once – it was going to drive her mad! And in there, she could see hundreds, thousands, millions of souls, twisted and deformed into beings beyond recognition. She could not tell if they screamed in agony or in delight, if they thought they were being saved or damned. So many – how many had Gretchen absorbed into her barrier? Was it even possible to save them?

Gretchen's smile turned beatific.

"Isn't my heaven beautiful?" she said. "Every one is happy there. There's no misfortune anymore."

The dress shrank back to the normal short, frilly pink dress. It took Homura a moment to recover herself.

"That's – that's not heaven," she said.

The tremble in her hands was gone. The terror in her chest had dissipated.

This was not Madoka.

She raised her bow and fired. The bolt would have hit. It would have struck Gretchen directly in the Grief Seed once again. But suddenly, Gretchen was moved just enough to the side that the arrow passed by harmlessly. Homura didn't have to think about how.

She just whipped around to engage Homulilly.

The girl crashed into Homura. They rolled across the ground, grappling for the other's throats, for a weapon, for some kind of hold that would give them an advantage.

Homulilly ended up grabbing the advantage first. The air whooshed out of Homura's lungs as Homulilly pushed her face down into the ground. Homura struggled, but Homulilly managed to pin her down on her stomach, holding her arms behind her back. Vegeta shot forward, but Gretchen's thread burst into deadly life, seizing him by the throat and wrists and yanking him back.

"Sorry, Homura," Gretchen said. For the first time, Homura realized that Gretchen hadn't been attaching a "chan" to the end of her name, the way Madoka always did. "But if you won't come to heaven...I have to get rid of you. I can't have misfortune in my heaven, even if you're the one causing it."

That was definitely something Madoka would never say. Homura struggled, trying to get Homulilly off of her. But her witch self had a firm grip. She could feel the clink of a gun barrel being pressed against her Soul Gem. Homura struggled harder – she would not die here! She would NOT die here!

It only occurred to her at the last possible second. She released her wings in a flare of light. Homulilly cried out, and suddenly, her weight was gone. Homura rolled to her feet. She could acutely feel the energy that made the shape of her wings – a bright, undulating force that repelled both her witch self and Gretchen.

She could harness a part of Madoka.

Homura pushed all of her magic into her wings. They swelled into an enormous size, pulsing their light in all directions. Homulilly shrunk back clapping her hands over her eyes with a cry. Gretchen's black threads dissolved where they held Vegeta. What threads remained shrank back to Gretchen, waving desperately around her as she, too, stumbled back.

But Homura could not keep up this magical output forever. She had gotten herself and Vegeta free, and that was all she could do. She released the energy that made her wings in a whoosh. Her breath came easier.

For the first time, there was something like anger on Gretchen's face.

"I'm going to make heaven, Homura! You can't stop me!" she shouted.

Darkness started to culminate in a pillar around Gretchen. The threads thickened like columns, shooting upwards towards the sky. Homura drew in a breath – she recognized this. The huge, pillar like being that Madoka had become after one timeline – Gretchen was going to try to destroy the world, if not the universe. Homura gripped her bow. She had to stop Gretchen before she got any farther with this! Homulilly shot back to her feet in spite of the obvious tremble in her legs.

"No," she said.

And she crashed into Homura. Again the two grappled, but this time Homura gained the upper hand. She launched Homulilly off of her, sending a flurry of bolts at her witch. They dissolved frustratingly before hitting her.

"I'll protect her from you," Homulilly said. "I will protect her."

"That's not Madoka!" Homura said. "Why don't you understand – helping her is not going to save anyone!"

"I don't want to save everyone. I just want to save her!" Homulilly cried, tears flinging from her eyes.

"She's not the one you gave up everything for," Homura said. "Why can't you see that?"

Homulilly didn't want to talk anymore. She lunged at Homura. Homura dodged, freezing time to fling a grenade at Homulilly. Homulilly dodged it and fired the contents of two handguns at Homura. One of then struck Homura in the leg, but she ignored the pain. The bow wasn't working – why wasn't it? Was there something wrong with her? Something wrong with the bow?

Why couldn't Homulilly listen to reason?

_You're me, aren't you?_ She thought. _Why are you fighting against yourself?_

Homulilly yanked a machine gun out of nowhere and starting to fire. Homura froze time to dodge.

_Why have you lost the feelings, the memories, the thoughts that I have, the control over yourself?_

She fired off another bolt from the bow, and it too, dissolved. Tears streamed down Homulilly's face as she fired bullet after bullet.

_Why can't I defeat you?_

Homura flung herself forward, recklessly past the stream of bullets, and grabbed Homulilly's wrists. The girl was trembling as she tried to escape. Tears fell in waterfalls, unceasing. Looking at her, like looking through a mirror to the past, Homura felt a strange stirring in her chest.

_Oh...I understand now._

Homulilly broke free and vanished into time. Homura turned in time to create a force field and deflect the bullets surging at her.

_You don't have the thoughts and feelings that I have because I won't let you have them. I don't want to become you. So I ignore you, one little part of myself._

She let her bow dissolve from her hands. Somewhere beyond her, Vegeta was trying futilely to battle past Gretchen's thick fence of threads to where she was gathering energy. Homulilly appeared above her, hovering on glittering black wings and aiming a rifle at her.

_I can't destroy you because I refuse to recognize you._

_You've always been there, haven't you?_

_My missing piece._

An idea was forming in Homura's head. She wasn't sure she wanted to implement it.

She wasn't sure what would happen to her if she did.


	29. The Ribbon of Memories

Vegeta was flung back again by those blasted threads. Dammit, they were so thin and stupid looking, why could he fight past them?

That girl was gathering more and more energy, forming a semi-transparent pyramid around herself. He could barely see her now, enveloped in the shadows as she was. With a growl, he launched himself at the threads again. They merely flung him back.

And then, unexpectedly, _she_ appeared beside him.

"You can't stop it now," she said. "I'm going to make heaven from here. Don't you want to come to heaven?"

Vegeta laughed sardonically.

"I don't think I'd fit in there, do you?"

He tried to land a fist on Gretchen, but she vanished like shadows and reformed behind him. He whipped around to face her.

"Why not?" she said, sounding genuinely curious. "You're my key. Don't you want to come with me?"

"I am no one's 'key'!" Vegeta snapped, rage coursing through him. "I am not a thing to be used!"

He fired off the biggest blast he could muster in her direction. It certainly hit her, but when the light faded, she only looked shocked and confused, and only a little singed on the edges.

"If you won't come with me...then –" she said. And then her expression

A bow appeared in her hand. For a moment, he thought it was like Homura's bow, as both were black. But as Homura's bow was sleek and sharp, almost futuristic in its curves, this girl's bow was much like a dead tree branch, withered and twisted. Vegeta wasn't going to give her the chance to fire it.

He filled the air with energy as he burst into the sky. He had to make sure she couldn't see well enough to aim. She ducked her head to avoid the blasts. Drawing back an empty bow, a blood red arrow appeared. Energy trailed off the end of it like a comet as it shot into the air, much faster than any bow and arrow should have been able to shoot. Vegeta dodged the attack and fired more energy at her. But she was gone – where? He whipped around to see her above him. Small black wings had appeared on her back, and she pulled her arrow back again. Was it just him, or did her hair seem a bit longer than before?

The only thing he had time for was one energy blast. It was enough to propel him out of the air, but it missed his target. He streaked towards the ground. The arrow followed, and he tried to twist away in midair. Instead, the arrow exploded, and his descending speed doubled.

He hit the ground with a crash. However, he was able to get up fairly quickly. He had taken worse falls.

He glanced up into the sky. Where had she gone? He couldn't see her. Come to think of it, he couldn't sense her, either. He wasn't sure he had ever been able to sense her. His fists clenched in frustration.

The sky was darkening quickly. He could see those other magical girls engaged with their own witch selves in various locations, occasionally crossing over into each other's fights for support. Kakarrot and Frieza were nowhere to be seen, although he could feel their energy. It felt like Kakarrot was having a hard time. He couldn't decide if that made him maliciously happy or irritably nervous.

Either way, his opponent seemed to have vanished on him. He glared around, looking for some sign. None were forthcoming.

The ground exploded nearby – a little too close. He jerked around to see Kakarrot heaving himself out of his own crater.

"Having problems?" Vegeta said sarcastically.

Kakarrot grinned, but it was tired and forced.

"How about yourself?" he said. Vegeta glared at the low-class Saiyan warrior. His gi was completely shredded. His shirt was barely on.

"None of your business," Vegeta snapped. "Where's Frieza?"

His question was answered as several beams scattered across the ground. Vegeta managed to dodge them fairly easily, but they seemed to be more aimed toward Kakarrot anyway. Kakarrot barley moved, however. His arms were raised up towards the sky, and sweat rolled down his brow in concentration.

"Why do you keep doing that?" Frieza spat. He fired at Kakarrot again, and this time, he hit the ground. But his arms went right back up towards the sky, palms facing upwards.

"What are you –" Vegeta snapped, but then he remembered. He had seen this attack before – the Spirit Bomb, or something like it? But that hadn't even worked against Vegeta himself. How could it work against Frieza?

Or so Vegeta thought until he glanced up into the sky...and saw the biggest orb of energy he had ever seen.

He jerked his eyes away refusing to stare and show Frieza exactly what was going on.

"How much time do you need?" he snapped at Kakarrot.

Kakarrot looked surprised.

"Huh? Oh, five minutes, maybe?"

Vegeta didn't spend any more time chatting. As Frieza cocked his hand back to fire more energy, he flung himself at the alien warlord. The motion threw Frieza quite off guard – the expression on his face was priceless. But the actual attack did basically nothing more than that. Although Vegeta crashed his fist as hard as he could against Frieza's face, the warlord only took a step back. He only looked vaguely annoyed.

And when the attack came back, Vegeta could barely defend himself. He hit the ground hard – the air whooshed out of his lungs. Frieza would have smashed him right then, only the Namekian called Piccolo or something like that came out of nowhere to barrel into Frieza. Vegeta wanted to swear at the Namekian for getting in his way, but he barely had the breath to get back up, much less speak. Damn all of them, always thinking he needed help!

The air was becoming harder and harder to breathe, he realized. He chanced a glance over his shoulder at the mountainous thing that girl had created, like a pillar of darkness that raised so high he couldn't see the top. It was spreading, slowly, across the sky, like a poison that seeped into the green and slowly shut out the light. Looking at it made his stomach turn.

For some reason, it felt like time was running out.

Just for a moment, the sound all around him seemed to dull and fade into the background, a low hum in the back of his mind. He could see everything happening at once, or so it felt like, as though time itself were slowing down. He saw the blue haired girl and her witch stab each other in the stomach at the same time. He saw Kyoko cringing underneath the rearing hooves of her witch's horse. The yellow haired girl struggled against ribbons that pinned her to the ground as her witch took aim with a rifle. Frieza fired deadly shots against the Namekian – it was a wonder Piccolo wasn't already dead. Gohan and Krillin rushed in slow motion to their friend's rescue, only to be throw back. Kakarrot stood with his hands to the sky, gathering energy into a single attack.

And then, Homura was standing next to him, staring at the mountain of darkness.

Time snapped back into regular speed.

"Homura?" Vegeta snapped. "What are you doing?"

Homura didn't answer at first. There was something...strange about her eyes. Almost dead, and yet, almost alive.

"We're losing," she said simply.

Vegeta grabbed her shoulder and whipped her angrily around to face him.

"Don't you even dare," he spat. "We don't have time for that!"

Homura wouldn't look up at him.

"I've figured it out, Vegeta," she said softly. "If we don't stop Gretchen, she will consume the universe from this point, with or without the power of the Dragon Balls. And if we don't stop Frieza, that will give Gretchen enough of a power boost to continue what she's doing. If either part of this battle fails, we lose."

"Homura –" Vegeta started, rage fueling through him like it was the only thing that could keep him alive. But Homura cut him off.

"You know, Vegeta?" she said slowly. Her eyes wandered back to the mountain. Homulilly stood before it, bristling with weapons as though she intended to defend Gretchen until death. Why did Homura's eyes go to Homulilly and not the mountain?

"What?" Vegeta snapped. "Don't trail off! We don't even have time for this?"

And then Homura looked Vegeta full in the eyes. He still could not understand the depths he was seeing there. For some reason, it sent dread into the pit of his stomach.

"You told me, once, that I couldn't win this battle by being kind."

She took a step back, out of Vegeta's grip.

"I'm sorry. But you were wrong."

Before Vegeta could stop her, she whipped around and bolted towards Homulilly. Vegeta didn't know why he followed her. The battle behind him certainly needed him more than Homura did. But there was an ominous premonition growing in his chest, and he didn't know what else to do.

Suddenly, more of those blasted threads burst from the ground. He tried to run past them – but they were so thick that he got tangled. Homura had gotten ahead of them, and she was still running straight towards Homulilly. She produced no guns. Her bow did not appear. She just ran straight towards her own witch as the girl raised her own weapons and took careful aim.

Vegeta wasn't quite close enough to stop Homura. But he was close enough to see what happened next.

Homura came up faster than Homulilly had expected. She didn't get a chance to fire before Homura had thrown her arms around Homulilly's shoulders. Vegeta's mouth dropped open. What was she doing?

What was she doing?

Homura threw her arms around Homulilly, squeezing her into a hug. Homulilly froze underneath her in shock. The gun tightened in the witch girl's fingers, too surprised to shoot, but too wary to let go.

Homura swallowed through a dry throat, even as tears started to prickle at her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "I'm so sorry."

Homulilly stiffened further. Homura pressed on.

"I didn't notice. All this time I was fighting you, and I didn't even notice. You cry because I won't let myself. You can't smile because I won't let you have that part of me. I've separated myself, you see? Into me and you, two pieces. And I've kept the best parts of myself from you."

Now the tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

"I always thought I had to think only about Madoka, and forget about the hell we went through trying to save her. I had to hope, and only hope. That was all I could do. But I was wrong. I can't ignore the bad things that happened. I can't shove all the bad memories onto you. The good and the bad memories – both of them together make us who we are. To ignore one and not the other...that makes us. Separate pieces, forever."

And now she moved back so that she could see Homulilly's tear stained face, holding the girl by the shoulders.

"But...now I see," she said. "Will you forgive me for not accepting you sooner?"

With a shaking hand, she removed the other ribbon, the one she never wore, from her pocket. Homulilly still did not move for the surprise as Homura pushed off Homulilly's hat to make room for the ribbon. Her fingers shook so badly that she had to try several times to tie the bow. When it was done, she stepped back from Homulilly. She had done the only thing she knew how to do. She wasn't sure what would happen next.

"I'm sorry," she said, one more time. "But everything will be all right now. I...I promise."

Homulilly stared at her. Then slowly, her own fingers sidled up to touch the ribbon. For a moment, the fingertips hovered on the bow.

And then, for the first time, a dazzling smile spread across Homulilly's face. Her weapons clattered to the ground. A few tears sparkled at the edges of the witch's eyes. But her smile remained, even as, slowly, she faded away in a slow glimmer of light.

"_Thank you..."_ a voice whispered past Homura's ears.

And then the trembling overtook her. Homura collapsed to the ground, sobbing. She could feel the memories returning to her, all the terrible things she had tried to forget, but all of the beautiful things that had faded as well. The tears wouldn't stop. She couldn't remember crying this much. She hadn't been able to before.

It felt beautiful to know she had both parts of herself again.

Vegeta could only watch in astonishment as Homulilly gave a dazzling smile and faded away. He could only stare as Homura collapsed to the ground in a burst of sobs, a wrenching display of emotion he had never imagined possible in that girl before. He could do nothing but watch as the sobs slowly stilled.

He could not understand what his eyes were telling him as the raven-haired girl called Homura Akemi fell face forward onto the ground and stopped breathing.


	30. Arrow of Light

Everything passed by in a blur. The very world seemed to burst into light as the Spirit Bomb descended towards Namek. Even the mountain of darkness passed in its poisonous spread as the energy surged towards the ground.

And then everything vanished into the light.

When Vegeta could see again, there was water everywhere. Most of Namek had been submerged. The threads were gone, the sky a clear green again, and there was a hole with water rushing down it where Frieza had presumably disappeared. Vegeta burst out of the water and glanced in all directions for some sign of Homura, or the magical girls, or someone at all. Finally he caught sight of the figures below him.

On one plateau, Krillin and Gohan were helping Piccolo drag Kakarrot back onto land. On another raised bit of land very close by, the blue haired girl was healing scrapes and bruises among the blonde and Kyoko.

And finally, he saw a black haired figure floating face down in the water.

_Puella Magi disappear when they die._

Vegeta shot downwards. He grabbed Homura by the collar and lifted her slight form easily from the water. He didn't bother to be careful – he was pretty pissed at her for acting all cryptic and mysterious.

The magical girls were traversing the water to the other plateau by way of a ribbon bridge. Vegeta aimed for their destination and hit the ground roughly, practically dropping Homura onto the ground.

"Took you long enough to finish that," he told Kakarrot irritably.

Kakarrot laughed slightly, and then groaned at some pain in his ribs.

"That was a tough one," he said with a lop-sided grin. "Everyone all right?"

"We're good," Kyoko said.

"Here, Goku, let me heal you up," Sayaka said brightly.

And that was when Mami's eyes wandered over to Homura. A cry escaped from her lips.

"Homura!" she said.

Kyoko's head jerked up, Gohan and Krillin looked around in surprise. Mami dropped to her knees next to Homura.

"She's fine," Vegeta said gruffly. "Puella Magi disappear when they die, don't they? So she's not dead yet."

Mami didn't seem convinced. She rolled the girl over in her arms. A silence fell over the group as the blank, glassy violet eyes stared up at nothing. Mami's bottom lip quivered as she stared at the limp body. Then, slowly, she closed Homura's eyes. When she looked up again, her amber eyes were shiny with tears.

"We're supposed to disappear," she said hollowly. "We're supposed to."

Sayaka's shoulders went up, as though she could hide behind them, her eyes obscured with her bangs. Kyoko just stared, her mouth hanging half open.

"Homura?" she said incredulously. "Homura? The walking enigma can't die. She's freaking immortal."

But Homura Akemi was not breathing. And she had not disappeared. Something was terribly wrong.

"But then what the hell –" Vegeta started.

The waters burst upwards in a furious blast. That mountainous darkness rose from the water like some whale, reaching for the sky greedily. Threads spread outwards from it like worms, wriggling around sickeningly. The poisonous spread of darkness across the green sky began again, but faster this time.

And Frieza appeared from the crater with a terrible, furious expression.

"It looks a little too cheery here," he sneered.

And a beam shot from his finger too fast to comprehend. Piccolo was the first to collapse. Sayaka was sent reeling into the water, and Kyoko dove after her. Krillin knocked Gohan down in expectation of an attack – and the next thing all of them knew, Krillin had exploded. For a second, all they could do was freeze and stare. There wasn't a bit of him remaining – the midget was just _gone._

"Ah, yes, now _that_ feels satisfying," Frieza said. "All right, who next?"

Vegeta clenched his fists in rage – why couldn't he die already? Why couldn't he just –

His thoughts stopped in his tracks. He could only stare. Because he could not comprehend the expression that was growing across Kakarrot's face.

Pure, undiluted rage.

The air started to heat up, so thickly that there were sparks. Small stones rose into the air. Kakarrot's fists clenched, his muscles tensed, it seemed for a moment like he was about to go into convulsions. Then his eyes flickered green to black. Green. Black.

Green.

Without warning, energy exploded around the Saiyan. It nearly forced Vegeta back off the plateau. A golden aura glimmered around Kakarrot's tense frame. His eyes had gone a startling green, his hair a blinding gold. What...what was this power?

Frieza hesitated, appearing just as shocked as Vegeta. Goku didn't move. His eyes were harsh, harsher than Vegeta could have possibly imagined.

"Gohan," Kakarrot said.

"Y-yes dad?" Gohan asked nervously. He, too, was shocked by this transformation.

"Take Piccolo, find Bulma, and get off the planet," Kakarrot said through gritted teeth.

"But – but dad –"

"Gohan. Now."

Gohan tensed. Then, without another word, he slid himself under Piccolo's arm and took off with him into the now swiftly darkening sky.

"You girls, get out of here, too," Kakarrot said, aiming his comment at the Puella Magi.

"But –" Sayaka started.

"Don't argue with me! Get out of here!"

The three girls exchanged glances. Then slowly, one by one, they filtered away from the plateau on Mami's ribbon bridge. They did not, however, go too far away, Vegeta noticed wryly.

"Do you really think I'm just going to let them all go?" Frieza asked.

He raised his hand to fire off a flurry of beams – he didn't even have time to blink when Kakarrot flashed in front of him and slammed his knee into the side of Frieza's head. The alien warlord crashed into the water and caused ten foot waves. Inside the pillar of darkness, something flickered, like lightning within a thunder cloud.

"She's still there," Kakarrot said.

Vegeta didn't have to ask who he was talking about.

"She's not doing anything yet," he growled, tensing to fight Frieza.

Then Kakarrot's eyes flashed at him. The green glow was eerie.

"Vegeta," Kakarrot said in a half-growl. "Get. The. Hell. Out. Of. Here."

For a moment, Vegeta was so shocked by Kakarrot's personality change that he couldn't move. Then he regained enough energy to snarl in Kakarrot's general direction.

Still. He didn't argue with the new Kakarrot.

As Frieza powered back out of the water, Vegeta grabbed Homura's limp body by the collar and took off. He practically threw her at the nearby Puella Magi, and then zoomed towards the darkness. As he drew nearer, it was as though the very air around him was getting darker. He could not tell if the blackness around him was mist, smoke, or something in between.

Finally, he had to stop. He could barely see the hand in front of his face, much less the way he had come. At the back of his mind, he could feel Kakarrot and Frieza fighting. Even from here, he could feel its intensity. But as he looked fruitlessly around the smoky blackness, he could sense nothing else. If that girl was here, he could not sense her at all – and that, above everything, annoyed him to no end.

Suddenly, blood red cracked through the darkness. He was lucky to notice it so quickly, as he dove out of the way just in time. In the same motion, he whipped around and sent off an energy burst in the direction of the attack.

He missed his opponent, but the blast served to illuminate her.

For a split second, he thought he had found the wrong person. How could this girl be the same girl they had been fighting only moments ago? And yet, it had to be her. It couldn't be anyone else.

She was suddenly taller, curvier, as though she had gained several years in only a few moments. Her hair had darkened to a deep magenta, and grown all the way to her feet. The pigtails remained, although now the ribbons that held them were black. The frilly pink dress of before had melted into a long black one with those damned black threads growing around it in almost a balloon shape. A blood red gem gleamed at her collarbone, seemingly grown into her skin. Her eyes were now a deep amber, although they still remained pupil-less and empty. Black feathered wings beat behind her, twisted, molting things.

But most prominently, half of her face was now obscured with a strange mask – he could not describe it; it looked like a horrific interpretation of a child scribbling onto a half-moon shaped piece of paper.

She drew back another blood-red arrow on a bow as tall as she was.

Vegeta shot another blast of energy at her. She didn't quite seem to move, but somehow the attack missed. He wasn't quite quick enough – her attack grazed him across the side. Another flurry of blasts exploded from his palms. Annoyingly, they did nothing to lighten or disperse the blackness, and none of them seem to hit her. She dove beneath the smoke. He shot after her with a swear on his lips.

Instantly he found himself flying into a forest of those black threads, thicker than before. They grabbed for him like living beings. He attacked them and managed to shoot out of their reach. Then he caught a glimpse of her above him, and he shot after her.

Again he dove into a tangle of threads. Again he managed to escape, and again he chased her only to end up in those damned threads. He couldn't see anything in this cursed mist!

Angrily, he attacked her with his energy from afar this time. She curved easily around his attacks. Another blood-red arrow zoomed for him. He dove to the side to get away from it – and right into the threads. This time they grabbed him by the ankles. Their strength was double that of last time, and he found himself unable to get free. Others snapped out to grab him. He struggled, but they pulled him slowly downwards, into the depths of the tangle.

_You can't win._

_You couldn't even defeat Frieza._

_Do you really think you can stand up to the dark side of a goddess?_

_You can't win._

Vegeta never, ever thought that he would be able to be persuaded by stupid words like those. But there was something about the threads that dragged at him, something about the mist that he was breathing in, that made them seem so much truer. Part of him shouted and snarled against the thoughts, refusing to believe them, but the more he struggled, the more they consumed him. His own attempts to escape the darkness was getter weaker and weaker, despite everything he tried to shout mentally at himself. Gretchen was overtaking him, and he could do nothing.

He hated it.

"_There are four doors, Homura."_

"_That wouldn't happen to be your precious Madoka, would it?"_

"_Yes...and no. In the same way that Homulilly is me."_

What? Why were those thoughts suddenly coming to him?

And then it hit him. Dark side of a goddess...there was one door left. And he knew who could open it.

"Kakarrot, dammit!" he shouted. "Figure it out already!"

For a second, Goku hesitated. It was as though he thought he had heard something. But Frieza attacked again, and made him forget what he was thinking. He parried a couple of blasts and sent double that back. Frieza was getting desperate. He could feel it. The alien warlord didn't stop to trade quips or sneer. He only attacked, and rather recklessly at that.

This power surging through him was unlike anything he could have imagined. He barely felt the strain of _chi_ blasts. Frieza's blows seemed to hold no power. His speed, so great before, was suddenly so easy to track.

And yet, he still felt like something was wrong.

He thrust Frieza back again and chanced a glance at the dark pillar. He couldn't see any sign of Vegeta – or sense him – and that worried him. Maybe he had been wrong to send Vegeta by himself, although he would never say that out loud to the explosive Saiyan prince.

Was he missing something? He felt like he was missing something.

He faced Frieza again, parrying the alien's wild strikes fairly easily. But the warlord managed to pull out an extra burst of power, and threw Goku off guard. He crashed down towards the roiling ocean. Although he managed to pull himself up before going beneath the waves, he wasted precious time in righting himself.

Time that Frieza took to fire a explosive ball of energy right into the center of the planet. Fear ripped through Goku for a moment – that was going to blow up the planet! Not everyone was off yet! He didn't have time to stop it!

And then that familiar, warm presence tightened around him.

The explosion caused the world to white out for a minute. When the light faded, a great crater had been bored into the earth. Goku could see fire far below.

"What – how did I miss?" Frieza shouted. "I aimed right for the core!"

That presence remained, like a secure blanket draped around him. It spread a calmness through him. It felt strange. Just a minute ago, he had been boiling with rage. That was what had given him this power boost. But yet...the calm seeped into him, and he didn't feel a single bit weaker. In fact, he felt stronger.

"_Goku...I have something to give you. Something important."_

The voice startled him. He had forgotten about her already. How could he have forgotten her?

"I may have missed the core, you stupid monkey, but that won't stop the planet from exploding!" Frieza shouted, a malicious glee spreading across his face. "You're running out of time!"

Goku bristled, but her warm presence cooled the anger, and replaced it with determination.

"Something important, huh?" he said.

He glanced at the pillar of darkness.

"We need...the other one..." he said.

Above him, Frieza was starting to power up. He was trying to reach his full potential. But that didn't bother Goku. Because he knew, deep inside him, that no matter how strong Frieza became, he could always defeat him. He had more than determination. He had hope.

And then he remembered what she had whispered to him in that dream.

"_My name is Madoka," _she had said. _"When you need me, just say my name."_

Goku smiled slightly.

"Madoka," he said.

Kyoko could barely understand the sight in front of her. The limp, unmoving form of Homura just lay there before her. It was the eeriest thing she had ever seen. She had seen dead bodies before. Her family's bodies came to mind.

But there was something about Homura's body that just sent shivers through her and made her want to cry. Even Sayaka looked stricken, and everyone knew that she and Homura had never been on the best of terms.

It just didn't make any sense. Even before Kyoko remembered the other timelines, Homura had always seemed invincible to her. Nothing could get past that enigmatic exterior. Remembering the timelines just made Homura seem even more indestructible. She had been through hell over and over. She could have died so easily in any of those times, but she somehow got through and caused Madoka's ascension. Kyoko had definitely never expected her to die until well after this adventure was concluded. Sure the odds were against them, but the odds were always against Homura Akemi. She just chose to ignore those odds. As far as Kyoko had been concerned, Homura was going to live forever.

But now, here she was, dead, when she should have faded on and then just returned back through the door to help them. Kyoko didn't understand it.

Her Soul Gem was gone, too. It had disappeared from the bracket on the back of her hand. And still, Homura did not fade. She just lay as though dead. She _couldn't_ be dead. There was no way that Homura could be dead and still be there in front of them. She should have at least gone to Madoka.

Kyoko clenched her jaw, refusing to cry. This would work out. It had to. It just had to. The darkness continued on its march across the sky. They were running out of time.

And then something happened. Something that made Kyoko nearly jump out of her skin.

Something was growing in the bracket where Homura's Soul Gem should be. And Kyoko couldn't tell if it was a Soul Gem or a Grief Seed.

He didn't know how long it had been since the darkness had completely closed over him. It could have been seconds. It could have been years. His head spun. Who was he again? He couldn't remember. Something was wrong. Something made him want to rear up in rage and fight against it. But the thoughts were somehow foreign. Who was he? Who was he again? His head spun.

And then the darkness broke.

An arrow of pure pink light cut through the smoke and black thread. Everything all crashed back to him – he was Vegeta, the prince of Saiyans, and that little bitch called Gretchen had somehow managed to get the better of him.

But as soon as the rage started to blast through him again, it faded. His head cleared. He couldn't remember feeling this alert ever before. The darkness was finally falling away, breaking up and dissipating. Gretchen fell back, cringing.

A girl appeared in the light. She was the exact opposite of Gretchen, her hair a light pink that fell in waves behind her. The ribbons that held her pigtails were a bright white, and her dress fell in thick, smooth waves of white and pale pink. A deep red gem gleamed at her collarbone, and a branch-like bow sprouting with roses rested in her hand.

She looked up and met Vegeta's eyes. Like Gretchen's, they were amber. But unlike Gretchen's they were not empty: they were filled with a calm and joyful hope.

"Hello, Vegeta," she said, a small smile gracing her features. "We're finally meeting face-to-face. My name is Madoka."

Somehow, Vegeta thought dryly, he had already figured that out.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: We're nearing the end...this is rather exciting for me; I've never finished a fanfiction before (well, except Cyniclon Saga, but I had always planned to go back and rewrite that, so it doesn't count :P). I have only five planned chapters left, and because the battle and everything is flowing so quickly, I'll probably keep writing rather quickly as well. I've been daydreaming about these scenes almost since the beginning of the project, and now that they're happening I find it hard to stop writing. So I should be finished with this in a couple of weeks! Hope you guys are ready! :D**


	31. Walpurgis Night

Dende woke up, wondering what had happened. What was going on? What – oh, great Porunga, what was happening to Namek?

The world seemed to be ending. Dende could barely keep footing for the wind.

"D-Dende?" a thin voice called.

Dende turned around to see Neyru feeling the way along a mesa.

"Dende, are you back too?" Neyru called.

"Yes," Dende called back. "What happened? Why are we alive?"

Neyru's head shook. Neither of them knew.

"Everything's disappearing," Dende said fearfully. "Are we back only to die again?"

Neyru shuddered. And then, suddenly, light sparked in the golden eyes.

"Dende, I can sense the dragon," Neyru said excitedly. "I can sense Porunga – the dragon is back!"

The two little Nameks looked at each other for a moment.

"Let's go," Dende said.

Time was running out. Gretchen's fog had cleared in the wake of Madoka's arrival, but the spread of the shadows across the sky hadn't stopped. The pillar remained, its threads waving wildly in furious gusts of wind. The water below roiled angrily, and spurts of lava burst up between cracks in the earth. This planet was going to hell.

Madoka hovered on glowing white wings that barely flapped. Her long white dress billowed in the wind, revealing galaxies beneath its folds. Her amber eyes were calm and steady, even as Gretchen's eyes were filled with anger. For some reason, her presence felt eerie to Vegeta. He head kept hearing about this Madoka ever since Homura had mentioned her, and now that he saw her face to face, he wasn't sure what to think. He had been expecting a wisp of a girl, but this young female exuded more power than he could have possibly imagined. And yet, in spite of that, it was not an overwhelming presence. It simply wrapped itself about him, gentle and unassuming. It did not try to force him in any direction, it simply _was._

He couldn't tell if he hated her or not, and that was a strange feeling for him.

"Why do you keep trying to stop me?" Gretchen shouted over the wind. "Don't you want heaven, too?"

Madoka sighed softly.

"I do," she said. "I want to save everyone. But I don't want to force anyone, either, Gretchen. I don't want to hurt them. Don't you see that when you save them, you hurt them?"

"No, no, no!" Gretchen shouted. "You're wrong! You're the witch, not me!"

Madoka shook her head.

"I'm sorry. I wish I could make you see. Reconcile, like Homura did. But I can't. Not until the end of time..."

She raised her bow, and an arrow of pink energy grew at her fingers.

"So I just have to defeat you, this time. Until we meet again at the end of time."

Gretchen's eyes flared, and she, too, raised her bow with a blood red arrow.

"This is the last night of the witches," Madoka said. "The last Walpurgisnacht."

And she let the arrow fly. Gretchen's arrow shot forward too. The two opposing forces clashed – for a single, impossible moment, they seemed to try and push against each other. But then everything exploded. Vegeta was forced downwards by the sheer heat of the blast, not to mention the force. Shivers fled across his skin as he suddenly realized he was no match for either of these deities. With a swear, he zoomed out of reach of their fight. The two goddesses continued to fire arrow after arrow at each other as Vegeta searched for someplace to land.

But everywhere he looked there was nothing but water, lava, and crumbling earth.

"This planet really is going to hell," he muttered. "Or maybe I'm dead already and this _is_ hell."

And that was when he noticed the shadows.

Bulbous things, heaving themselves up and roiling for freedom from the cracks in the earth, they seemed at first to be thicker threads like Gretchen's. But then similar shadows started growing out of the blackened sky, and they began to form into strange and eerie shapes. He hesitated in midair, wondering if this was another trick of Gretchen's, or if it was just something wrong with the planet.

Then the shadows began to form shapes, definable and solid. At first, they still appeared alien, almost like flat cut-out shapes of beings: a creature that looked like a kidney with butterfly wings, a shadowed crouching girl with branches like snakes growing from her back, a giant caterpillar with the face of a clown. Then they began to warp and form human shapes.

Vegeta swore under his breath. They were witches.

They crawled out of every available nook and cranny, as though hell itself had regurgitated onto the roiling face of Namek.

Vegeta sensed the attack just moments before it happened. He rolled out of the way as a girl with butterfly wings dove at him. Another girl with several limbs and a dress covered in spikes swiped at him, and he sent a flurry of energy into her face. A small girl with pigtails threw the end of her thick scarf at him, and it turned into the clown-faced caterpillar he had seen before. He fired a beam into its face, but a new one came out of its mouth and snagged him by the legs with its teeth. He yelled with rage – why were there so many of them? Energy exploded in a halo around him and forced them all back. But they didn't stay back for long. The masses of witches came back in waves. There had to be thousands of them!

He parried away one girl only to whip around and fight with another one. But even as he did so, it seemed that another attack came towards him in slow motion behind him –

A purple bolt of energy blasted the deadly attack away. Before Vegeta could understand what was happening, chaotic energy burst into life around him. The witches fell back in the face of the black, star-studded energy.

Vegeta turned around. He wasn't sure if the sight shocked him or not.

The girl didn't seem much different in build, but it was obvious that something had changed on a deeper level. She wore a dress with black sleeves that opened widely around her hands and puffed shoulders. A silver infinity symbol decorated the bodice of the black dress, which opened into a purple trimmed white skirt beneath the folds of black. Warping, chaotic wings of black that glittered with purple stars glimmered behind her. Her raven hair flowed behind her, much longer than before, with the two bright red ribbons tied on either side of her head.

Homura Akemi half-smiled at him.

"Did you miss me?" she asked dryly.

Vegeta smirked at her.

"You certainly took your time," he said.

And then they both turned, back to back, to face the onslaught of witches.

This planet's time was ending, and it was time to bring his battle to a close. Frieza's one hundred percent had thrown him for a loop, but now, the battle seemed pointless to continue.

"I'm done," Goku said.

Frieza blinked.

"You – what?" he said.

Goku released the golden power from himself with a breath.

"I told you. I'm done. This battle is over," Goku said. "You can't get any stronger. Continuing is pointless."

He glanced across the ruined, roiling landscape. In the distance, he could see the flares of magic and energy, the masses of dark creatures being pushed back one step at a time. Even from this distance, he could see and sense Madoka facing against Gretchen. The battle grated against him, feeling unnatural and wrong. He felt that as soon as his battle was over, that one could end too.

"Oh, I get it! You're scared! You're just a scared little monkey!" Frieza crowed. "You don't think you can defeat me!"

"I could defeat you. I just don't feel like it," Goku said. "I'm leaving."

He had to make sure everyone else was okay before the planet exploded. Were Gohan and the others off yet? He took off into the darkening sky. Frieza might die in the explosion, he might not. But there was no way he could get any stronger. Goku was confident that if the warlord returned, he could defeat him.

A disc of energy slashed past him, and he barely dodged. He whipped around to see Frieza glaring at him maliciously. Anger pulsed through Goku again – didn't he know when to give up? Didn't he understand that he would die if this continued?

The golden energy crashed through him again. He leapt upwards to avoid the disc of energy coming back at him from behind again. Frieza summoned a second disc of energy and flung that one too. Goku whipped around, diving, ascending, and dodging the arc of the discs. He zoomed at Frieza, hoping that maybe he could send the energy right back at him as long as the discs continued to follow him. He sent up a blast to distract Frieza and then flashed upwards. The discs missed Frieza – he hadn't been holding out much hope for them to hit.

He fired another blast. Frieza ducked down. Goku readied one more – and then he saw the stray disc.

"Get down!" he shouted.

Frieza just looked at him with a sardonic malice as he readied his own energy beam.

"No, Frieza, behind you!" Goku shouted.

It was too late. The disc cut Frieza right in half. Goku watched, not sure if he were horrified or relieved, as Frieza collapsed in two pieces to the ground.

In the midst of her battle, Madoka gave off a sigh.

"Almost," she murmured to herself. "Almost."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Hey, guys, sorry for the delay. I totally planned on having this chapter out yesterday, but well, uh, I got in a car accident and that kind of threw my day out of whack. (Could've been worse, it could've thrown my life out of whack. :/ ) It's okay, though, everyone's fine and there are no major injuries. I did, however, ruin my parent's car. And off of the depressing subject, I plan on illustrating Homura's ascended form some time soon; I'll post a link in one of the chapters as soon as it's done. Hope you guys are ready, we are seriously reaching the end here!**


	32. Destroyed Soul

It had been dark at first. Who was she? What was her name? What was she fighting for? It was all a jumble of happy and sad memories, things she wished she could forget and things she was glad that she remembered. And then it had all settled together. She was not Homulilly, but she wasn't quite Homura, either. Who was she now?

A little bit of both, she decided. Actually, all of both. She was truly herself for the first time. A whole and complete being.

She decided to keep the name Homura, though. She remembered clearly the day that Madoka had told her that her name was "cool." She liked that memory. So, she supposed, she was still Homura Akemi.

"Hey," she said, as Vegeta turned around. "Did you miss me?"

He simply smirked, and Homura Akemi fully came back to the world of the living. She remembered that arrogance, and it was somehow refreshing to know that something remained the same.

"It took you long enough," he said.

They turned back to back, and waited for the witches to descend on them.

One after another, or sometimes all at once, the witches struck. Homura fired off several bolts. Vegeta pulled her down for a second and shot over her head, striking a witch about to stab her. At the same time, she knocked a witch aimed for Vegeta out of the way.

Homura could not remember feeling so alive. Her head buzzed, her veins pulsed with a powerful hope. The magic of her bow came easily and without strain to her fingers, and she could feel _everything._ Every witch she looked at, she could see the girl they had been once. She could see both of them in their entirety, the good and the bad that made them who they were, but had been separated. She could see exactly how to reach every single girl in order to bring them into a reconciliation with themselves.

It should have boggled her mind, made her go insane from the vast amounts of information that flooded through her – but it didn't. It was like she could process all of it on a separate plane of thinking even as she processed her immediate surroundings.

It was a glorious feeling.

_Homura-chan, it's beautiful, isn't it?_

Joy fluttered through Homura's chest.

_Yes, Madoka...it's wonderful._

_It's good to talk to you again, Homura-chan! I've missed you._

_I've missed you, too._

_Once this is over, we have a lot to catch up on!_

Homura fired off another bolt. She smiled slightly.

_Indeed, we do._

Madoka's heart surged with joy. Homura was finally with her! Homura-chan had finally reached the same plane as her, and Madoka was no longer alone.

Bolts of red energy punched through Madoka's wings. She stumbled back through the air, but the energy that made her wings reformed over the holes instantly. Oh, that's right. She had to focus. Gretchen's eyes overflowed with tears. A normal human would have missed their shots and fumbled in that state, but Gretchen was not human. Her bolts still flew as true as ever.

Madoka's heart panged with sadness.

_If only I could meet you as Homura met Homulilly_, she thought. _But I can't...not until the end of time..._

"I'm sorry," she told Gretchen. "But this battle has to end."

The sky split with lightning. It was time.

Madoka's sigil began to grow in the air. Energy gathered at the rose that topped Madoka's bow, like a pink fire. Hope was growing, so quickly. Every time Homura struck a witch, she flew into that past and rejoined the girl and her witch. The hope that sprang from each balancing was being drawn to Madoka, into one super attack.

And Gretchen was noticing.

Madoka had to wait a little bit longer. Just a little bit more hope. She had to wait just a little longer... Gretchen didn't want to give her that time. Her own sigil, a red version of Madoka's own circles, sprang to life in the sky. Thousands of red bolts surged from within the circles, bearing down on Madoka.

"No," Madoka said.

She flicked her fingers, and a shield sprang to life in front of her. It deflected the bolts in all directions.

"Stop!" Gretchen screamed. "Stop trying to stop me! I'm going to make heaven! I'm going to!"

Her army was depleting as girls came into harmony with themselves across the ages. Homura was winning. Madoka was winning. Gretchen's eyes flashed towards where Homura and Vegeta fought their enemies.

A tingle of unease flashed across Madoka. She already knew what was happening – she was already in the future, too. Then the voice she knew she was going to hear echoed in her mind. Or rather, it echoed in Goku's mind, but Madoka could hear it.

_Goku! We're going to use the Namekian Dragon Balls and wish everyone except Frieza off the planet!_

_Right, get everyone off, King Kai, but leave me here._

_W-what? Goku, you can't be –_

_No, King Kai, I am serious. I'm going to defeat Frieza. Don't you dare wish me off the planet._

_But Goku –_

It was about time. Madoka sent her own mind into the conversation.

_King Kai...it's all right. Goku _will_ defeat Frieza. I won't let him lose._

King Kai definitely didn't know who she was, but she was sure her presence had filtered to him, maybe enough to calm his nerves.

Gretchen cried out in protest. With one last screech, she transformed into pure, chaotic energy: her true witch form made of darkness surrounding a mask. That energy swirled – and shot down, towards the planet. Madoka knew what was happening. She, too, transformed herself into pure energy and followed.

Then the tingling began. She could sense the Namekians leaving the planet, one at a time. But there was one person here that couldn't leave yet...she still needed one last thing from him.

_Homura-chan, _she sent her thoughts echoing into the air. _Homura-chan. Freeze time._

Homura's skin tingled. A strange buzzing filled her ears. What – what was going on?

_Homura-chan. Homura-chan, freeze time._

Homura didn't question. She wasn't really sure if she could freeze time anymore – she didn't have a time shield – but she reached out with her magic at Madoka's request. Something clicked in her brain. And everything froze.

Well, almost everything.

There was something a little bit different about the feeling in her head. It was like her time shield with its whirling gears and turning hourglass, but it was as though there were more than one clock in her brain. She tested it out, stopping one of the clocks. Beside her, Vegeta came out of frozen time, but nothing else moved.

Vegeta hesitated halfway through his charge at a witch. Then he blinked, surprised. He glanced at Homura.

"What did you just do?"

"It looks like I can chose who I freeze time for, now," Homura said, feeling just as surprised as Vegeta looked.

Several of her "mind clocks" jiggled. She felt Madoka's presence wrap around her, as if in confirmation. Homura stopped those jiggling clocks. Below her, she could see two lights, one pinkish white and one red, glowing beneath them.

_Homura-chan, thank you. Come down, here, I'm going to need your help. And Vegeta-kun's, too._

Homura glanced at Vegeta. His hard expression told her that he had heard Madoka's voice too.

"Well, the goddess needs my help, hm? Not so all powerful, is she?"

Homura rolled her eyes. But it was somehow comforting to know that Vegeta was just as obnoxious as ever.

"Let's go," she said. "Let's finish this."

They left the frozen witches behind.

The world felt off. What exactly was it? Goku glanced around. Then it hit him: there was lightning frozen in the middle of the sky. Those lava geysers were frozen in midair. Everything was completely silent. The bleeding, chopped in half form of Frieza didn't appear to be moving, but it didn't seem to be because he was dead.

And then pure shadow energy crashed down from the sky like a tornado. It fed into the form of Frieza, completely obscuring the wounded alien warlord from view. Before it could clear, mixture of pink and white energy flashed down towards Goku himself. It blinded him for half a second, and then faded.

For a second, nothing seemed different. And then Frieza was getting up, looking completely unharmed and practically seething with shadow energy. Was this really Frieza?

_It is and it isn't,_ a voice echoed in Goku's head. A presence seemed to fill him up, like a light that illuminated his mind.

"Madoka?" he said.

_Gretchen is making her last stand. She's chosen her last champion – and I've chosen mine._

Power surged through Goku's tired arms. The anger that made up his new transformation calmed; his mind cleared.

"Are you in my head?"

_It's the only thing I can do. For this last strike..._

Energy formed in Frieza's palms. A malicious grin spread across his face as he seemed to realize the new power coursing through him. And yet there was a blankness to his red eyes that suggested that Gretchen was in control.

_...we must fight together._

The warm energy of Madoka, mixed with his own intense golden aura, melded together.

"Thanks,"Goku said. "It was...good to meet you, Madoka."

_You, too, Goku-kun. I hope we'll meet again someday._

Gold and pink energy gathered to meet red and black.

It was truly the last confrontation.

There seemed to be some kind of interference in the air. Although everything was frozen in time, it was like the pressures of Goku and Frieza below made it difficult for Homura and Vegeta to fly downwards.

"What's going on down there?" Vegeta shouted.

"I don't know!" Homura shouted back.

She could sense Madoka, and Gretchen – but why? Weren't they fighting somewhere else? She glanced up and could not see either goddess anywhere. She looked down again, and suddenly noted the pink fire that edge Goku's golden energy.

Homura swore softly.

"What?" Vegeta said, sending her a sharp glance.

"Madoka and Gretchen...are down there," she said, pointing.

Vegeta followed her finger to the clashing fighters below. Comprehension dawned in his eyes.

"Damn," he said.

The fight was more of a blur than anything. Every now and then, Goku would be completely aware of the frozen landscape and the being in front of him that was only partially Frieza. In those moments, he would just feel incredibly sad. Frieza never knew when to give up. And he was going to die for it. Sometimes, Frieza was completely conscious, too, and when both of them were conscious, Goku didn't have time to feel sad because the fight became that much more intense.

But most of the time, Madoka sort of overshadowed him. She wasn't trying to; in fact, she really couldn't help it. Her presence was just so overpowering. During that time, Goku would feel almost groggy. Although he moved a little bit faster than before and there was more power flooding through him with Madoka's addition to his energy reserves, it was like he was fighting in a dream and everything moved slower to his mind in the background. Frieza seemed to have the same problem, although, he seemed to be much less aware of it. Just every now and then his eyes would go completely blank, and Gretchen would attack full force through him. But when he snapped back to himself, Frieza didn't seem to notice that anything had changed. And that made Goku sad, too, because Frieza was being used. Even if Frieza had realized it, he wouldn't have accepted it. He would have insisted that he was the strongest being in the universe.

Except, there was no strongest being in the universe. Because even Gretchen and Madoka were just about evenly matched. And Frieza couldn't accept that.

But Gretchen's attack came more slowly now. Her artificial increase of Frieza's power was weakening. The truth was that Frieza was dying, and had been when the disc had cut through him. Even Gretchen couldn't hold the being together for much longer, not when the fire of life was quickly leaving him.

Frieza was fully conscious of himself right at the end. Gretchen had mostly leaked out of him, unable to keep him alive any longer.

There was nothing but hatred in Frieza's red eyes. Goku's sadness seemed to match the sadness in Madoka's presence as well.

"I'm sorry," Goku said, and perhaps Madoka was saying it too. "But I gave you so many chances."

Energy burst easily from his own palm. His golden aura overtook Frieza's attack with little effort. Frieza didn't stand a chance for even a second.

As the light cleared for the last time, Goku could no longer sense Frieza's energy. Slowly, with just the barest whisper of a goodbye, Madoka faded from him.

It was really and truly over.

Homura was losing her hold on time – Vegeta was sure of it. Her hands were trembling and sweat was beading on her forehead. He had no idea why she had to freeze time in the first place.

Frieza's aura disappeared from the back of Vegeta's mind. He jerked his attention away from Homura with shock. Frieza – Kakarrot had really killed Frieza?

"I didn't think the bastard had it in him," Vegeta muttered.

The overwhelming presence of the twin goddesses had faded. There was only Kakarrot, now, standing almost motionless within the time frozen landscape. Homura and Vegeta descended towards him.

And that's when Vegeta felt it. The roaring power of Gretchen, unable to let go of this world, screaming and kicking back to life. Kakarrot's head jerked up and his green eyes met Vegeta's. Vegeta scowled as Gretchen roared back to life in front of Kakarrot. Kakarrot tensed, but it was only for show. His muscles trembled. There was no power behind him.

_Vegeta-kun,_ Madoka echoed through his mind. He half growled. He was really starting to get sick o the constant mind spam he was getting from her. _It's your turn, now._

"What the hell do you want me to do?"

_You opened the door...now it's time to close it._

Vegeta scowled as Gretchen's explosive shadow powers sent Kakarrot skidding backwards. It might be funny to watch Kakarrot die after having defeated his greatest foe.

_Vegeta-kun! _Madoka insisted.

Vegeta sighed.

"Fine," he said.

He surged down, Homura's surprised eyes flashing after him. As Kakarrot struggled to grab hold of another burst of energy, Vegeta just shoved him out of the way. Kakarrot blinked, shocked.

"Vegeta –"

"Shut up and stay out of my way," Vegeta said.

Gretchen glared at him, her face now half covered with a mask that looked like some preschooler's crayon scribble idea of a face.

"Go away!" she screamed, her voice echoing as though there were more voices behind it. "Go away!"

Vegeta just smirked.

"I don't take orders from you," he said.

He wasn't sure that he really knew what he was doing. But Madoka picked up from there. The roar of her fiery magic flooded through him. Gretchen shied back, and Vegeta really, really enjoyed her shocked face.

"This is for thinking you could toy with me," he said.

And he let the magic go.

Almost instantly, Gretchen vanished. It was as though a crack had opened up in the air and swallowed her up, shadows and all.

Her presence disappeared. She was gone, and this whole damn thing was over.

Time snapped back into focus. Lava spurted into the sky, lightning concluded its flash, and thunder cracked the earth around him. Then a buzz filled Vegeta's ears, and a tingle spread across his sky. He jerked his gaze into the sky, wondering what was going on.

The last thing he saw was Homura's shocked violet eyes. Then his ears popped. And he was staring a calm blue skies and trees rustling softly in the breeze.

Namek was gone.

Homura stared with shock at Vegeta disappeared the moment she let go of time. It had been a relief to release the world, but now she was filled with dread. Had she done something wrong? Where had Vegeta gone? And where was Madoka? Why couldn't Homura sense her?

"Homura!"

The voice was barely noticeable over the scream of the wind, but she caught it. She looked down to see Goku surging up towards her from the ground.

"What's going on?" she shouted above the wind.

"The planet's about to explode! We have to get off now!" Goku said.

"Where is everyone?"

"They used the Earth Dragon Balls to bring everyone back to life on Namek, and then the last wish on the Namek Dragon Balls to transport everyone on Namek to Earth."

Oh! It made sense now. Madoka needed Vegeta to close the door, but the wish would have taken Vegeta back to Earth. Homura had to freeze time to make sure Vegeta would stay long enough to finish here, and then the wish would take effect.

"Why not us?"

"I asked to be left behind to finish with Frieza. I thought you'd be gone already."

The earth rumbled beneath them, and another plume of lava surfaced much too close.

"Catch up later, leave now," Goku said curtly.

Homura didn't argue. They both took off into the sky and zoomed towards – well, she didn't know. Maybe Goku did. As they circled around a few times though, she came to the conclusion that he had no idea, either.

Then, suddenly, he dove towards the ground. Homura had to jump to keep up with him. She understood his hurry in an instant – they were headed towards Frieza's ship. She was shocked that it was still here. The pair dove through a hole in the ceiling and took off down the passageway. It took precious seconds to locate the control room.

Goku slammed the keys, trying to force some kind of life into the ship. Homura forced her magic through it. Maybe she could control it the way she once controlled trucks and missiles! It was no use – the ship was nothing more than a dead hunk of metal.

Homura grabbed Goku's shoulder.

"It's no use! We have to find something else!"

"What else is there?" Goku said frustratedly.

Homura didn't know. But then –

"The Ginyu Force! They came after Frieza! Their ships might be here!"

Comprehension dawned in Goku's eyes. With no time to lose, he grabbed Homura by the arm and powered through the ceiling of the ship. He could move faster than she could, and practically dragged her through the sky. They found the craters of Ginyu's ships on a mesa nearby – only three ships remained. A cursory glance with her magic told Homura what she needed to know.

"This one works," she said, pointing at it.

"You get in first," Goku said.

Homura shook her head.

"I can get this one to work," Homura said, pointing at another ship. "You don't have magic. You get in that one."

"Homura –"

"Goku, do you really think I'm about to kill myself? Get in that pod, I'll get in this one."

Goku looked at her. For a moment, she thought those green eyes might pierce through her and see the lie. But Goku was trusting if he was anything.

"Okay," he said. "See you back on Earth."

They looked at each other for only one more moment. Then Goku started to climb in one pod. Homura made a pretense of climbing into the other and settling inside the tiny pod. The door on Goku's ship powered shut. But he didn't move at first. He was probably waiting for her.

Calm spread over Homura. The world was ending around her, but the sounds of destruction seemed muted.

"Good-bye, Goku," she whispered. "You have something to go home to. I don't."

And she sent her magic full force into the pod, activating it against Goku's will. The pod shot off into the sky. Homura climbed back out of the broken pod to watch it disappear. Goku was probably trying to turn the pod around, but Homura had already made sure it couldn't come back.

For the first time, Homura was completely alone. The last living being on a dying planet.

The thing was, Homura wasn't really sure if she were alive or not. After reconciling with Homulilly, she had been floating in blackness for a while. She looked at the soul gem on her hand, almost the same as before, but with the symbol of her witch's kiss engraved within it: a white hourglass with a black spider lily beneath it. Maybe she had died when she came to terms with Homulilly. Maybe, just maybe, she would fade through the door to Madoka now.

But in her heart, she knew she was wrong. It had simply taken her some time to ascend, but she was still very much alive. She had not passed on yet.

_Well_, she thought. _I guess this is finally it._

_This is finally the end._


	33. Compassion

There were tearful reunions all around, but not everybody could join in the celebrations.

Gohan stared up at the sky, as though his gaze could pierce through the atmosphere and across millions of miles of space to Namek. Behind him, he could hear the Namekians calling out in their own languages, tears flowing as villages reunited to find their loved ones alive.

Steps padded softly along the grass behind him. He didn't really look, but he noticed when Kyoko stood beside him.

"You okay?" she asked.

Gohan couldn't quite answer. He swallowed through a dry throat.

"My dad..." he said slowly. "Do you think...?"

Kyoko's hand rested lightly on Gohan's shoulder. The touch was almost awkward at first, but then she squeezed reassuringly.

"Goku's the toughest guy I've ever met," she said. "And, you know, you've got one hell of a good dad. He loves you a lot. He'll do whatever he can to come back for you."

Gohan drew in a short, sniffly breath. He hadn't been aware that tears were starting in his eyes.

"Are you sure?"

Kyoko just squeezed his shoulder a little tighter. Another set of footsteps, even quieter than the last, snuck up behind. This time, Gohan turned around to look. It was Neyru, and coming behind, Dende.

"Neyru! Dende!" Gohan said, brightening. He had known that everyone had come back to life, but no matter how many times it happened, he was always so relieved to see his friends alive and walking again. He could see see the ghost images of their tiny, broken forms...it was too terrible to imagine again.

He ran over to the two small aliens and nearly tackled them in a big hug. The two children laughed loudly and hugged him back.

"We did it!" Dende said. "We went to the dragon and wished everyone home!"

"And your dad, Gohan! Your dad was so strong!" Neyru said.

Gohan's joy tempered slightly.

"Y-yeah," he said.

Neyru's head cocked slightly. Those clouded golden eyes seemed to look right through Gohan.

"A-are you okay, Neyru?" Gohan asked.

Neyru shrugged.

"I can't see anymore," the little alien said. "Sometimes, I could see a little bit. And then I could see things that others couldn't. But...now I can't see anything."

The child frowned.

"I can't...I can't even see your dad anymore, or Homura. I could always see them, somewhere in the back of my mind. But...now I can't..."

Gohan's breath caught. Kyoko's fingers half closed into fists, and then relaxed. Gohan looked back up into the sky, sending up a wild, silent prayer.

_Please, dad...please...come back..._

Goku punched the side of the space pod.

"Turn around! Turn around, dammit!" he shouted.

There was no point, but he kept trying anyway. The pod wouldn't respond. Homura had seen to that. And the planet had just exploded behind him, sending the pod's momentum rocketing forward.

There was no way Homura could have survived that.

He punched the pod's controls again. Everything was in lock-down, set on auto pilot. Even if he had known how to fly the thing, he wouldn't have been able to override the settings.

"Dammit, Homura!" he muttered. "Dammit!"

Pain throbbed in the back of his head. He felt dizzy, like he was going to throw up. His fight with Frieza and close contact with Madoka's presence was starting to get to him. He wouldn't be able to stay conscious for much longer.

In one last, strained effort, he tried to reach King Kai with his mind, to let him know that he was alive – he didn't want Gohan or Chichi or any of his friends to worry.

But he couldn't focus. Everything hurt. Before the mental message could leave his mind, he had passed out.

Vegeta's head still buzzed. That teleportation thing was obnoxious – why couldn't an all-powerful wish granting dragon teleport people without leaving a ringing in their ears?

The bright cheerfulness of Earth, a stark contrast to the hell that was Namek, irritated him beyond no end. What had happened? He knew Gretchen was taken care of, after all, he had done that himself. But what about Frieza? Had the bastard low-level warrior taken care of him?

He glanced around. The Namekians were intolerable, running around, chattering in that grating language of theirs, crying as they hugged each other. It was sickening. Elsewhere, a blue-haired girl appeared to be talking to the air, waving her arms around and looking as though she were arguing with someone. There was no one there, though, so either she was insane or she was stupid enough to talk out loud to someone talking in her head. Humans. Idiots.

Finally, he noticed the group he was looking for: the Puella Magi. The blonde and blue-haired one seemed to be talking to each other. Kyoko was standing next to the runt and the two Namekian children from before, the whole group of them staring up into the sky. What were they looking for, Namek shrapnel? And where the hell was Homura? Now that this was all over, he was going to give that girl a well-deserved punch in the face for making things so complicated.

He stalked towards the Puella Magi. Mami and Sayaka glanced up as he approached. Mami's kind smile was almost more infuriating than everything put together.

"Good job," she said. "You sealed Gretchen."

"I don't need your compliments," he snapped.

Mami didn't seem perturbed by his irritation, because she just kept smiling. Vegeta made a mental note to punch her after he punched Homura.

"Where's Homura?" he said, deciding to just imagine it for now instead of actually doing it.

Mami blinked. Sayaka looked up too, cocking her head. Even Kyoko turned around, looking confused.

"Huh? Thought she was with you," Kyoko said.

"Yeah, we were still on the planet surface when the Dragon Ball wish came through," Sayaka said.

"We saw you and Homura fighting the witches in the sky when we teleported," Mami said.

Gohan and the two Namekians also turned around. Their eyes were wide, and Gohan even looked a little teary. Vegeta growled at all of them, especially Gohan. That was no expression for a Saiyan to wear.

And yet, even he could not deny the uneasiness settling into his chest.

Just then, the blue-haired girl walked over to them. Her pace was slow, hesitant. That irritation and anger Vegeta had noted on her face before was gone. Now, her brow was furrowed with hesitance, and her hands kept rolling and unrolling in and out of fists.

"Bulma? What's wrong?" Gohan asked.

But the young boy's voice cracked as though he already knew. The girl, Bulma, apparently, licked her lip once. She hesitated just a moment longer.

"Namek's gone," she said. "King Kai can't make contact with Goku. He...he didn't..."

Her voice caught. She put a hand to her mouth for a moment, closing her eyes tightly shut. When she had regained her composure, a stony, unaffected look fell across her face. It was a rock solid mask to hide the feelings beneath, so steady that even Vegeta was impressed. He had thought human women were more emotional than this.

"Goku didn't make it off," she said. "Gohan. I'm sorry."

Gohan hiccuped. For a moment, it looked as though he might burst into tears. Almost immediately, Kyoko fell to her knees and grabbed Gohan, squeezing him tightly to her. The boy's shoulders shook, but not a single sound escaped him.

Vegeta felt a tingle run down his arms. Mami took a step forward, looking concerned.

"And...Homura...?" she asked. "Do you know?"

Bulma's mask wavered for just a moment, but she replaced it quickly.

"She was with Goku. I don't know why the wish didn't work on her. I guess...she didn't make it either."

Mami's eyes closed for just a moment.

"Girls," she said softly. "I think...it's time to go."

Sayaka nodded, chewing on her lip.

"Go? Go where?" Vegeta snapped.

Mami looked at him. The smile was finally gone from her face.

"To go see Homura."

She paused a moment longer. Then the blonde girl turned on her heel, took one step away, and in the middle of that step, disappeared from sight. Sayaka rubbed the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry," she said lamely. "I..."

She shook her head. There was really nothing to say. And then, like Mami, she, too turned around and disappeared. Kyoko lingered a little while longer, holding Gohan while the little boy trembled and hiccuped. But finally, she stood up.

"It gets better," she said. "And don't worry, kiddo. You've still got the Dragon Balls, right?"

Gohan swallowed, and nodded.

"That doesn't stop it from hurting," he whispered.

Kyoko smiled sadly. She patted the two Namekian children on the head, and then Gohan. Before she turned around and left like the others, she pulled a box out of her pocket.

"Here," she said, pushing the small box of pocky into Gohan's hand.

And without a word of explanation, she was gone.

They were all left staring at the place where the Puella Magi had once been. Gohan hiccuped once more with tears.

"I forgot...that they were dead too."

Dende moved closer to Gohan, comforting. Neyru did too. Even Bulma came over to hug Gohan. Slowly, the group started to walk away, back towards the Namekians.

Vegeta just stared off into space, not really sure what to do now.

He clenched his fists. He had seen hundreds of people die. Thousands. Maybe even millions. Homura was only one of those people. Death had never hurt him before. Not even the death of his planet, his father. It didn't matter. Homura was just one person, a human, an annoyance at that.

"Damn you, Homura," he muttered.

Gohan paused in the middle of walking. After a moment's hesitation, he turned around, and walked back over to Vegeta. Vegeta almost didn't notice him until he started speaking.

"I'm sorry," the runt said.

Vegeta's eyes flashed down at him, but Gohan didn't even flinch.

"For what, runt?" he growled.

"Because...Homura was you friend, wasn't she?" Gohan said. "I'm sorry, because she died, and when people die it hurts, and so we tell people we're sorry."

Vegeta's lip curled. He glared at Gohan, but the boy didn't waver. After a moment of staring, Vegeta just shoved him backwards, making the boy fall over.

"Sorry? I'm not sorry that she died. She was only an annoyance, always getting in my way. In fact, I'm rather _glad_ that Namek exploded. After all, now Kakarrot is gone, and I don't have to worry about that low-level Saiyan hanging around and trying to challenge my rightful place. So you ought to be sorry for yourself, because there is no longer anyone strong enough to protect you from me!"

Gohan picked himself up. Vegeta glared at him one more time. Then he stalked away. Gohan's voice echoed after him, though.

"I think Homura...thought you were her friend, too. I'm sure she did."

Vegeta half considered going to punch Gohan in the face, to make up for not punching Homura. But those words cut through him, despite his insistence that they meant nothing.

And so he just kept walking.

"Damn you, Homura," he said again.


	34. White Room

When Homura opened her eyes, she was almost shocked at her surroundings. The familiar low table in front of her, the warm, well-lit atmosphere, the flowers in pots all around her...and the plate with the slice of cake sitting in front of her.

For just a moment, she thought everything might have been a dream. Here she was, sitting in Mami Tomoe's living room, as though a planet hadn't just exploded around her. As though nothing at all had happened but for a dream since the first time she had sat in this room, and learned about Puella Magi for the first time...

"Homura-chan!"

The voice sent a rush of breath out of her lungs. Although Homura was sure she had been alone at the table before, she certainly wasn't now.

"Hey, transfer student," Sayaka said from her left. "It's about time you joined us!"

"Are you feeling all right? Dying is never a fun experience," Mami said from one seat over.

"Hey, hey, Akemi! Nice to see you again!" Kyoko said, grabbing her in a headlock from the right and giving her a fierce noogie.

When Homura escaped from Kyoko's grip, laughing as though she had never laughed before, she then, finally, saw her.

Madoka sat across from her, on the other side of the table. She looked exactly the same as Homura remembered her, from her bright pink pigtails, to the Mitakihara uniform...to the beautiful welcoming smile that just made Homura's heart soar.

"Madoka," she said, just barely above a whisper. "Is it...really you, this time?"

Madoka's smile got wider.

"Of course it's me, Homura-chan," she said. "I told you we would meet again."

Homura couldn't speak. She was so full of her emotions that it was hard to think clearly.

"Where...where is this?"

"It's my living room," Mami said with a wink.

"I noticed," Homura said, smiling back. "But it can't be your real living room. All of us are dead."

"It's sort of a waiting room, I guess," Madoka said. "A projection. I...I like it. It feels so normal, like the old days, doesn't it?"

Homura couldn't stop smiling as the memories quietly opened up for her.

"It certainly does," she said softly.

There was a beautiful warmth and safety that seemed to emanate from this room. Homura felt as though nothing bad could ever happen again.

"Madoka...so...I've died for real this time, haven't I?"

"Yes," Madoka said. "Your Soul Gem couldn't handle the explosion."

She paused.

"But...you still have some options, if you'd care to hear them."

"Of course," Homura said.

Madoka looked up at the ceiling, her tongue slightly out in thought. Finally she looked back down at Homura.

"Every time I bring a magical girl home, I absorb their darkness. Their despair," she said. "And every time, I ask if they want to pass on, or stay here and fight with me until the end of time. Most of them pick the first option."

"Madoka..."

"Wait, Homura, let me finish," Madoka said. "I keep absorbing the darkness, and eventually, I split into myself and Gretchen. And we fight. That fight destroys the universe.

"When I absorb the darkness, that goes into the Gretchen part of me. And she hoards the halves of the Puella Magi that are witches. It will continue until our last fight. But you, Homura, you figured it out. You fixed it."

"What? Me?" Homura said.

Madoka smiled.

"I wanted to save them from their tears," she said softly. "I just wanted the cycle of despair to end. But Homura, you learned the one piece that I missed. Sorrow and pain...we don't want them, but they are a part of us. They define us."

"But I –"

"Would ya let her finish?" Kyoko said, putting Homura in another headlock.

Madoka laughed softly.

"You reconciled with Homulilly," Madoka said. "And you took just a little bit of my darkness, of Gretchen's darkness, away. You healed part of me."

Homura could only stare with slowly widening eyes.

"So...I have a favor to ask, Homura," Madoka said. "If all the girls that I save...if all of them reconcile with their witches and bring themselves into balance...then instead of fighting with Gretchen at the end...I can balance with her instead."

Madoka ducked her head for a moment. When she looked up again, her eyes were warm.

"You have a choice, Homura. You can pass on, go into that other place with me, and never have to fight again. Or you can stay right here, halfway between the other place and the living world, and fight with me, until time ends."

A silence filled in the gap in the conversation. Homura looked around that familiar room, remembering every knick-knack. She looked at each of the familiar faces. She could already guess the choice they had made. Why else would they be here?

Then she looked at Madoka's waiting face.

Homura smiled.

"Oh, Madoka," she said. "Don't be silly. You should already know what my choice is..."

**A/N: Just one more chapter to tie everything up! Oh, and I finally drew a picture of Homura's ascended form. Here y'all go! art/Homura-Ascended-391555644**


	35. Magia

Meteors screeched towards the ground. Each impact sent a shock wave through the ground, almost causing him to lose his balance. He shouted in defiance at this natural event that was trying to bring him to his knees. However, the sound was lost in the noise of the stones striking the earth.

The next shock wave sent him to the ground. Vegeta spat dirt out of his mouth. He could sense the next meteor surging towards him, and rolled out of the way. It struck right beside him. Shrapnel flew up in all directions. A small piece or two ripped into his skin, but the pain was barely noticeable.

Vegeta rolled back onto his knees. Cliff. He was going to get up that cliff. The rumbling earth made it difficult for him to keep himself steady. He dug his fingers into the ground and heaved himself forward, bit by bit. He was almost at the top of the cliff...he was reaching for it...

A meteor struck the side. He lost his grip and skidded a few feet down until he managed to grab hold again. His grip was weakening, but he refused to acknowledge it. Up again. He could do this. The cliff shook again and skidded a few feet more. Dammit! He was going to become a Super Saiyan if it was the last thing he did! His mind buzzed with the memories of Kakarrot, transforming into that legend without effort, that mysterious boy from the future who was also a Super Saiyan – damn them, all of them. He was the prince of all Saiyans and he was going to be a Super Saiyan!

His ears rang with the silence. What? Had the shower ended? His hands trembled on the cliff side, and he tried to heave himself upwards.

Inexplicably, a pale hand reached out to him. He barely processed what it was before he grabbed hold of if. The next thing he knew, he was being pulled up on top of the cliff. He drew in a deep breath before he took a look at his surroundings.

The shower hadn't ended. Instead, all the meteors...were frozen in midair...

"Do you have a death wish, Vegeta?"

The clipped tone was all too familiar. He looked up.

Homura Akemi stood above him, arms folded. She didn't look as though she had aged a day – what had it been? A year? Two? And where had she come from?

"When the hell did you decide to crash my party?" he growled.

"Nice to see you too," Homura said.

Just the barest flicker of a smile crossed her face. Vegeta scowled.

"I thought you were dead."

"I am."

"Then what the hell are you doing walking the world of the living?"

Homura shrugged.

"I just thought...I'd say hello."

Vegeta glanced at her. She definitely looked exactly the same. Same raven hair, same violet eyes, same ridiculous white and gray uniform...same damn chaotic wings that were probably supposed to look impressive.

He stood up.

"Getting all sentimental now that you're dead, huh?"

"I've always been sentimental. I thought that was already clear."

"Hm."

He stared at the frozen meteors, the shades of gray that indicated her time freeze. He hated to admit it, but...

He wasn't exactly unhappy to see her.

"So now that you're dead, you just flit around and say hello to people?"

"Actually, I fight across time, space, and dimensions with Madoka."

"Oh? Still trying to fight your battles with kindness?"

"In fact, that's exactly what I do."

She cocked her head at him, eyes half narrowed.

"So what are you doing? Trying to die?"

"I'm training," Vegeta growled.

"Trying to become a Super Saiyan, then?"

"None of your business."

"I thought so."

Homura also looked around the desolate landscape, the frozen comets.

"You know..." she said slowly. "Becoming a Super Saiyan...is a lot like opening the right door. And you're good at that, aren't you?"

Vegeta turned a glare towards her.

But Homura Akemi was already gone. The last meteors exploded against the ground, and then the shower really was over. Vegeta continued to glare at the spot where Homura had been.

"Opening a door," he grumbled. "Who does she think she is?"

But...well, there was no one around. He sat down, closed his eyes, and thought about a door. He just had...to find the right one...

Don't forget.

Always, somewhere, someone is there for you.

Someone is there to show you the way home.

As long as you remember that

You will never be alone.

**A/N: And that concludes Wishes of a Different Sort. Wow, I can't believe that this story that started with chapters I wrote on a whim became so popular. Thank you all so much for sticking with this project to the end. This will be the first story EVER that I actually finish, and I'm super excited about that. XD Again, thank you so much for being here; it's you readers out there that got me to finish writing this in the first place. I hope the journey was as much fun for you as it was for me.**

**Keep on wishing.**


End file.
